


Wayward Daughters

by RowArk



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-05
Updated: 2015-07-29
Packaged: 2018-04-03 00:23:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 46,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4079533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RowArk/pseuds/RowArk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Swan Queen: when a magical mishap turns both Emma and Regina back into teenagers, they stay with the Charmings while the rebel Emma teaches the refined princess Regina how to have fun, and a teenage romance blossoms along the way :) this is all for the cute :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Emma's head was spinning the moment she woke up on the hard, cool concrete.

"Shit," she mumbled to herself, trying to remember what happened last night. She didn't even remember going out. This was wasn't looking good.

She assumed she was lying in a parking lot, but as she sat up she realized she was indoors, in what looked like a creepy, dingy dungeon.

"Oh shit, oh shit," she whispered under her breath. This was it. She was kidnapped and being held hostage by some creepy pedophile and probably going to get murdered.

Her eyes scanned the room quickly, and she spotted another girl, passed out, who looked about her age, with dark hair and dressed way too maturely for a teenager. She crawled over to her silently and started shaking her shoulders. "Hey, you, wake up," she said, in a hushed voice. The brunette didn't stir and Emma leaned close to make sure she was breathing, at least, before standing up and looking around.

"Fuck, what is this place?" she asked herself, looking around, fully expecting the Crypt Keeper to pop up around the corner any moment. Emma shuddered at the thought. She looked back at the other girl, nudging her a few times with her foot, before continuing to explore.

Maybe she wasn't kidnapped, maybe she just drank way too much last night. She didn't feel hungover, and she wondered if maybe she was just still drunk. She hoped that was the case.

She heard a chiming noise, and felt something vibrating in her pocket, which nearly made her jump out of her skin. For the first, time, she realized that she was wearing clothes she didn't recognize – tight jeans, a white tank and a red leather jacket.

She reached into her pocket anyway, and pulled out… well, whatever the hell this thing was. The screen read 'Mary Margaret' and there was a green button saying answer and she could only guess this thing was some sort of high tech phone. She glanced around again and decided she should answer, because she wasn't sure if this was reality or a dream or she was drunker than hell and she kind of wanted to know what was going on.

"Hello?" she said, awkwardly, not sure exactly where the speaker on this thing was.

" _Emma?_ " a voice came through the other end.

Oh fuck. This was getting weirder and weirder. "Uh… yes?"

" _Where are you?"_

"Uh… a dungeon? Or some shit?"

" _Emma? Is that you? What's going on?"_  the voice sounded panicked. Emma wondered what the hell this lady was panicked for, she was the one trapped here.

"Yeah, it's Emma. Who is this?"

" _Emma… you don't sound like yourself. Are you alright?"_

"Hmm, well, I'm talking on a space phone and trapped in a crypt and some drunk-ass chick is passed out on the floor, so, um, I'm gonna go with no."

_"_ _Emma, have you been drinking?"_

"Who are you, my mother?" Emma laughed. She was convinced this was a dream. A very vivid dream. What else could it be?

" _Yes, Emma, it's me."_

"Funny. Lady, I don't know who the hell you are, but if you're not planning on rescuing me from this serial killer's lair, then kindly – oh, wait, this chick's waking up. Hey, girl," Emma put the phone down without disconnecting it, and knelt down in front of the other girl.

"What happened? Where am I?" the other girl asked, blinking up at Emma.

"Your guess is as good as mine. What's your name?"

"Regina," the girl answered, rubbing her head as she sat up, slowly.

"Hey, I'm Emma."

Regina looked around, confused. "This… these are my mother's things," she said, looking around at the books and vials around her.

"Your mother lives in a dungeon?"

"No, silly girl. She doesn't live here, and this isn't a dungeon, it's a vault."

"Well, if this is your mother's crap, do you mind telling me why the hell I'm here?" Emma asked.

"How dare you! I'm a princess. You can't talk to me like that," Regina said, glaring at Emma.

"Oh, yes, you're an American princess. Newsflash, girlie, this is a democracy."

"I don't know what 'American' or 'democracy' mean, but I can assure you, I am a princess."

"Well, your Highness, mind showing me the way out of this  _vault_ , then?"

Regina stood up slowly, and looked down at her clothing. "What on earth am I wearing?"

"Forgot your ball gown and tiara at home, I take it?" Emma laughed. Regina glared at her again.

"My mother will have your head if you don't watch yourself," Regina warned.

Emma rolled her eyes, and wandered over to a shelf full of vials and small bottles. "So what is all this stuff? Like, perfumes or something?" she asked, picking up a bottle.

"Don't touch that!" Regina cried, grabbing it from her, and placing it carefully back on the shelf. "It's a potion. I don't know what it does."

"A potion?" Emma raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. My mother is Cora, perhaps you've heard of her? She has magic."

"Ohhh kay," Emma said, "maybe it's time someone laid of the magic  _mushrooms_ , don't you think?"

Regina narrowed her eyes. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Moments later, they both froze as they heard the sound of hurried footsteps coming down a set of stairs.

"If that's my mother, we're both dead," Regina whispered, her eyes wide. She breathed a sigh of relief when a woman with short, dark hair rounded the corner, and Emma guessed that wasn't Regina's mother.

"Emma!" the woman exclaimed, and Emma recognized her voice from the phone. This must be Mary Margaret.

"Look, lady, I don't know who you are but-"

"I know, it's alright," Mary Margaret cut her off, "I know who  _you_  are. Both of you."

"Um, okay, that's not creepy or anything," Emma said, casting a sideways glance at Regina, who just stared, silently.

"Emma, this is going to sound crazy, but… I'm your mother. Your, well, birthmother."

Emma gaped at her for a moment. "Yeah, okay," she said, trying to brush it off, though her stomach was now in knots.

"Listen, I know this is going to be heard to believe, but," Mary Margaret paused, seeming to collect her thoughts, and then turned to Regina. "Regina, you know about magic."

Regina nodded, uneasy, and looked at Emma.

"Ok, well, you two are here because of magic, somehow. You're, what, fifteen?"

"Sixteen," Regina corrected.

"Me, too," Emma said.

"You're actually not, though. You're actually adults, and Regina, you're teaching Emma how to use magic. You two must have had a mishap of some sorts, and changed yourselves into teenagers again."

"This is a joke, isn't it?" Emma asked, suddenly smiling like she figured the whole thing out. "My foster parents hired you, like a 'Scared Straight' kind of thing, right? Stop drinking and sneaking out or you'll end up at the mercy of some crazy person, right? Ok, you win, I'm convinced!"

"Emma, I promise you, that's not what this is," Mary Margaret sighed. "Here, look." She pulled a phone from her own pocket, and showed Emma a picture on the screen. "This is me and you, the adult you, last week."

Emma looked at the picture. The woman smiling back looked at lot like her, but this was insane.

"If this is magic, my mother can fix it," Regina said, timidly.

"No, honey, she can't," Mary Margaret sighed, "she's… I'm sorry, honey, but she's dead. She died a few years ago."

Emma turned to look at the other girl, who seemed to take the sudden news of her mother's passing extremely well.

"What about the fairies? Could they help?" Regina offered, maintaining her poise.

"That's actually a good idea," Mary Margaret nodded.

"What, so we're going to see Tinker Bell now?" Emma scoffed.

Regina looked at her and shook her head in confusion. "Who's Tinker Bell?"

Emma laughed. "Oh, this is too much!"

"Come on, girls," Mary Margaret said, heading back in the direction she had come from. Regina quickly stepped after her.

"Hey!" Emma called out, "you're not really going to go with her? You don't even know her!"

"Would you rather stay here?" Regina asked, casting her a quick glance.

Emma looked around the room again. She didn't particularly want to stay in a dungeon – or vault, whatever – but she wasn't sure that following a clearly unbalanced stranger was the best option, either.

Either way, she didn't want to be left alone, so she followed Regina up the stairs. When they reached the top, Emma felt a wave of nausea come over her.

"Is that… a coffin?" she asked.

Mary Margaret spun around quickly, but it was too late, Regina had already seen the name.

"My father's dead, too?" she asked. Emma noted that she seemed visibly much more affected at this death.

 _Two parents in one day,_  she thought to herself,  _that's shitty._

She didn't know what it would be like to actually lose a parent, since she went through foster parents like water, but the look on this girl's face told her it hurt like hell.

"I'm so sorry, Regina," Mary Margaret said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Emma watched as Regina drew in a sharp breath, and straightened her shoulders. She was starting to wonder if this girl was telling the truth about being a princess. If she wasn't, she sure played the part well.

And if this girl was really a princess, then perhaps this dark-haired woman was really her birthmother. And perhaps magic really was real.

And maybe monkey would fly out of her butt.

Emma fought the urge to laugh at the ridiculousness of the whole situation, as they set off to find Tinker Bell.

_I'm never drinking again._

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The movie reference that Emma makes in this chapter is definitely going to betray my age lol. For the younger crowd, The Flight of the Navigator is an 80s movie where a kid goes missing and returns eight years later, but he hasn't aged and he doesn't realize any time has passed, but all the technology is new and everyone is older, including his little brother, who is now chronologically older than him. Emma was born in 1983, she would have totally seen this movie as a kid.

"You ok?" Emma asked Regina, as they finally stepped outside the vault.

"Yes, I'm fine," Regina replied, plastering on the fakest of smiles.

Emma looked around. They were standing in a cemetery. "Creepy," she whispered, mostly to herself.

"Come on, girls," Mary Margaret urged them, as she opened the door to the old Ford pick-up.

Regina stopped short. "What… is that?"

Mary Margaret sighed. "It's a truck. Regina, we're not in the Enchanted Forest. This is a different realm with different modes of transportation, but it's safe, I promise."

Regina nodded, and started to step forward, but Emma grabbed her arm, and turned to Mary Margaret. "You're not gonna like… push us in front of oncoming traffic or some shit, are you?"

"What?" Mary Margaret shook her head, confused. "Why would I do that? Oh, and watch your language."

Emma ignored the language comment. "You're not the first person to tell me magic is real. The first one was bat-shit crazy and she pushed me in front of a car so I could magically stop it like Harry Potter."

"Ingrid," Mary Margaret said, nodding.

"How did you know that?"

"Because, Emma, I know you. You just don't remember. And no, I'm not going to push you in front of a car, I promise."

"You're sitting in the middle," Emma told Regina, as she let go of her arm. Mary Margaret pulled out her phone as the three climbed into the truck.

"David, where are you?" she asked into the phone. There was a pause, and then "Ok, stay there. I'm bringing… just stay there."

"David? I thought we were going to see Tinker Bell?" Emma said, laughing.

"We're making a stop first, to see your father," Mary Margaret said as she put the truck in drive and headed off.

Emma scowled but didn't reply. She didn't know what kind of sick joke this was, but she was certainly sick of this woman claiming she had parents when she most certainly did not. Regina watched in wonder at the lights and buildings as they drove, and Emma wondered what in the hell was wrong with this girl.

Emma leaned to look out the window as they pulled up in front of Granny's Diner. "Oh, I get it! There's like a camera crew in there, right? Waiting to see the look on my face? Good one, but I didn't buy any of this," she said, as she opened the door and hopped out.

Regina followed close behind. "What's a camera crew?" she asked Emma, in a hushed voice.

"Quit saying shit like that, or everyone's gonna think you're nuts," Emma replied, rolling her eyes. Mary Margaret hurried in front of them and opened the door. She motioned for someone to come out, and moments later a man appeared. Emma guessed this must be David.

Mary Margaret started talking about magic and a mishap and this is Emma and Regina but they're teenagers now, and Emma rolled her eyes. The man – who Emma had to admit, bore some resemblance to her – couldn't stop staring at her. When Mary Margaret finished, he stepped over to Emma.

"Emma, this is David, your father," Mary Margaret said.

"Is that really you?" he asked, reaching out to touch her face. Emma took a step back, and looked at Regina again, wondering what in the hell she should do. She felt bad for this girl who had just lost two parents, when meanwhile, here were two people claiming to be the parents of an orphan. It was just too messed up to process.

"Come on, girls, come inside," Mary Margaret said, as she headed towards the door.

For her part, Regina looked terrified. Emma watched her eyes dart around between the street lights and power lines and the neon "open" sign on the door, and wondered how sheltered of a life this girl had had until this point. She put her hand lightly on the other girl's shoulder. "Hey, it's ok. We'll stick together and we'll be fine, okay?"

Regina nodded, and they headed inside after David and Mary Margaret.

Emma looked around the diner as David and Mary Margaret stood and discussed going to the fairies. Regina seemed to be listening intently and Emma had to wonder what kind of girl seemed to know nothing of the world and believed in fairies.

"Emma?"

Emma turned to see where the oddly familiar voice had come from.

"Holy shit, that is you!" a woman with dark eyes and brown hair who looked to be in her early thirties was walking over to her, grinning like an idiot.

Instinctively, Emma took a step back, and put her hands up defensively. "Who the hell are you? My long lost sister or something?"

"Lily," Lily said, raising her wrist to reveal her star birthmark.

Emma's eyes widened, and she looked back at Lily's eyes. It was definitely her, just much older.

"What is this, some  _Flight of the Navigator_  bullshit? Why are you old?"

"Thanks," Lily said, laughing again, "I'm not old. You're just young, for some reason. How old are you now, like fifteen?"

"Sixteen," Emma said, rolling her eyes

"Wow, that shitty attitude is new. I guess getting you away from Chore Wheel had an effect, huh?"

Emma's eyes darkened at that comment. She was unaware that her Regina and these people claiming to be her parents were listening as she took a step closer to this grown-up Lily imposter. "You know what? After the police picked me up and dropped me off at Children's Services, they put me in a home where I had to earn my room and board on my back. So yeah, that had an effect on me."

"Oh, my God, Emma, I didn't know," Lily said, not even trying to cover the shock on her face.

"Well, like I said before, you like to play runaway, but it's my fucking life!"

"Emma," Mary Margaret reached her hand out for her daughter, who flinched away, suddenly aware that everyone had heard everything.

"What? You wanna tell me to watch my language?" she asked, fighting back the tears that were burning at the corners of her eyes. This wasn't funny anymore. She wanted to go home. "I need a phone! Is there a phone in this place?"

Mary Margaret was at a loss for what to say, and she merely held up her cell phone.

Emma looked at it, and shook her head. "No! I mean a real phone, not this space shit you people have." Her lip quivered as she pushed past Lily and headed up to the counter. The old lady behind the counter gave Emma a sympathetic smile, and handed her a cordless phone. Emma gaped at her for a moment, wondering how exactly she'd heard her from across the room, but she accepted the phone from her anyway, and quickly dialed the number for her foster family.

The automated voice on the other end notified her that she was calling long distance, and she looked back at the old lady – whom she assumed must be "Granny" – confused. "How is Hopkins long distance?"

"Honey, you're a long way from Minnesota. This is Maine."

Emma couldn't process that or reply, as just then a voice came through the other end.

_"_ _Hello?"_

Whoever it was, that voice didn't sound familiar. "Hi… uh, can I talk to Stephanie?"

_"_ _I think you have the wrong number."_

"No, no, I don't. Stephanie McCormick. This is her number," Emma insisted.

_"_ _The McCormicks moved away from here eight years ago, sorry."_

There was a click, and then a dial tone, and Emma handed the phone back to Granny. Granny smiled again, and handed Emma a mug of cocoa.

"Here, this will make you feel better."

Emma looked at the cup, and then back at Granny. "Cinnamon? How'd you know?"

Granny winked, and went back to her work, and Emma turned around slowly to face the group she'd left standing on the other side of the diner.

 _This can't be real,_ she told herself,  _I'm dreaming. This is a dream_.

And yet, she found herself crossing the room back over to these strangers – and a strange version of Lily.

"Okay," Emma said, tentatively, shifting from foot to foot, "let's say you're  _not_  all crazy, and somehow this is real. What now?"

"Well," David started, "we were going to see the fairies, but now we're thinking maybe it would be best to take you girls home and ask the fairies to come to us. This has been a lot to take in, already."

Emma glanced at Regina, who seemed to be looking to her to judge what to do next. Emma was still undecided.

"I know this is scary," Mary Margaret added, "it's a lot for all of us, trust me. Here you are, in an unfamiliar place, with magic when you don't even believe in magic, and then here's Regina, in a whole other realm where nothing is familiar, except magic. But we'll make it work. I know neither of you remember, but we care about both of you, and we'll take care of you."

Regina was still looking at Emma, silently, and Emma bit her bottom lip, and nodded. She wasn't sure what else to do at this point, and she was reasonably sure these people didn't want to kill her or hurt her in anyway. She was still holding out hope that this was all a dream, but if it was, it was the most vivid dream she'd ever had.

"What about Henry?" Emma heard David whisper to Mary Margaret as they headed back out of the diner.

"We'll tell them about him when we get home," Mary Margaret insisted.

"Are you sure we shouldn't give them a heads up now?"

Mary Margaret shook her head. "How do you prepare someone for that?"

Emma felt a knot in her stomach, as she was suddenly dying to know who Henry was and why she needed to be prepared.

She was suddenly thinking of Ingrid and Harry Potter and wondering if Henry was a giant three-headed dog. At least if he was, then she'd know for sure this was all a dream.

She had a sinking feeling that wasn't going to be the case.

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

As Emma climbed back into the pick-up – after urging Regina to get into the middle again – she watched as David climbed into his police car.

"He's a cop?" she cried, turning to look at Mary Margaret.

"Actually, so are you. You just don't remember."

Emma smirked. "Yeah, I bet." She sat and hesitated, with the truck door still open, deciding whether to stay in the truck, or bolt. She glanced around, taking in the scenery of the small, unfamiliar town, and wondered where she would go, if she did run. She had no money and apparently her foster mother moved eight years ago. She considered, briefly, that maybe that meant no one was looking for her.

She glanced back at the nervous brown eyes of the girl sitting next to her, and sighed. She didn't look like a runner, and Emma decided it wasn't fair to leave her behind. She had promised her she would have her back, so she slammed the door shut, and slouched into the seat, as Mary Margaret started to drive.

Regina peered out the windshield as they drove. "These people," she said, "some of them look… familiar."

"Everyone here came over from the Enchanted Forest," Mary Margaret explained.

Emma snorted. "The Enchanted Forest, isn't that where Snow White and the Seven Dwarves lived?"

Mary Margaret looked at Emma and sighed. Thankfully, the ride to the loft was a short one. David's cruiser was already there when they pulled up, and Mary Margaret seemed to be taking her time putting the truck into park and getting out. Emma wondered what she was stalling for.

Maybe David needed time to get that three headed dog back in his cage.

Or maybe he was prepping his house to sacrifice herself and Regina to the woodland fairies, or some shit.

Emma was apprehensive, and intrigued, as she followed Mary Margaret and Regina inside. It amazed her how quickly the dark haired girl was to trust a complete stranger. She momentarily considered darting out the door while they ascended the stairs, but, again, her concern for the girl who seemed completely lost in the world overpowered her, and trudged up the stairs behind them, anyway.

Mary Margaret opened the door, and Emma was greeted by the expectant – and overly excited – smile of a brown haired boy who looked about fourteen. She glanced around the room and immediately took note of a baby's crib. The place looked relatively normal, for crazy people.

"That really is them," the boy said, grinning like this whole thing was hilarious to him.

"Emma, Regina," Mary Margaret said, "this is Henry."

Regina immediately curtseyed like the princess she claimed to be, but Emma just narrowed her eyes at Henry, wondering why on earth David thought they needed to be pre-warned about a boy.

"He's your kid?" Emma asked, turning her wary eyes back to Mary Margaret.

"Actually, I'm your kid," Henry said. Emma actually laughed out loud.

"Oh, I have a kid, do I? Right, because I'm actually an adult, magically transformed into a teenager."

Henry nodded, as if there was nothing strange about what she had just said.

"How old are you?"

"Fourteen," Henry answered.

"I managed to keep a kid alive for fourteen years, huh? I guess I didn't turn out to be such a giant screw up after all."

"Actually, Regina raised him, for ten years. You're both his mothers," Mary Margaret said, tentatively.

Regina looked at Emma quickly, her eyes wide with shock. "That's not possible," she insisted. "We're both females. No magic is that strong, and… I wouldn't."

Emma had to laugh, looking at this girl's apparent offense to the idea that she would have been with another girl. She really did lead a sheltered existence, Emma was sure. She wondered if she was homeschooled by some super religious family or something, who didn't let her know about technology or the real world.

"You adopted him, when Emma gave him up," Mary Margaret explained.

Emma's sharp eyes darted to Mary Margaret. "Take that back. I would  _never_  give up a kid. Never."

"Mom, it's okay. You didn't have a choice. You were in prison," Henry cut in.

"First of all, don't call me "mom". I'm two years old than you, for crying out loud. Second of all, I've never been to prison, so nice try. This shit isn't funny anymore. I want to go home now," Emma insisted again, not that she had a home to go to.

"Henry, why don't you show Emma where her room is? Let's give her some time to process while we call the fairies," David suggested.

Henry motioned for Emma to follow as he headed to the stairs. Emma grabbed Regina's hand. "We stick together," she said, looking into her dark eyes. Regina nodded.

Once Henry headed back down stairs, Regina sat politely on the edge of the bed while Emma set about tearing through drawers in the room.

"Is that really appropriate?" Regina asked, watching Emma in mild horror.

Emma shrugged. "They said this is my room."

She wasn't sure exactly what she was looking for, but something told her the answer was here, somehow. She whipped open the wardrobe and laughed. "Leather, leather, leather… is that all she… I? Own?"

Regina didn't answer as Emma pulled open a drawer. "Check this out," she said, holding up a shiny Sheriff's badge. "Apparently I'm a Sheriff… with a criminal record… and a kid."

"Why don't you believe in magic?" Regina said, suddenly.

"Because it's not real. Why  _do_  you believe?"

"Because it  _is_  real. I've been around it my whole life."

Emma didn't answer, and Regina looked over to see she was holding something small in her hand, and looked uneasy.

"What is it, Emma?" she asked.

Emma came over and sat beside her on the bed, holding a small plastic card that looked completely foreign to Regina.

"Driver's license," Emma said. "My name, my birthdate, my signature… but that's not me," she said, pointing at the picture.

"She looks like you," Regina pointed out, "just a little older."

Emma shook her head. "Please tell me you don't believe this crap?"

"How can I not?"

Emma sat in silence a little while longer, flipping the card over and over in her hand, trying to make sense of this. It had gone on way too long to be a dream, and if it was a prank, it was extremely elaborate.

"What did you mean before," Regina started, finally breaking the silence, "when you said you had to earn your room and board on your back."

Emma shifted uncomfortably. "Nothing. I just… I just made it up, that never happened. Don't worry about it," she said, standing up and pacing the room. Regina looked around as she saw the lights around them start flicking. She looked back at Emma, whose hands were shaking with nervous energy, and it wasn't hard to make the connection.

"Emma, how can you not believe in magic, when it's all around us, right now?" she asked, standing.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Emma exclaimed. As she did so, three of the light bulbs blew out, causing them both to jump.

"That's magic!" Regina insisted.

"Stop it!"

"I'm not doing it, you are."

Emma looked around the room. The lights were going even more haywire now. She had meant for Regina to stop talking about magic, but she realized Regina thought she meant stop making the lights flicker. And Regina thought she was doing it.

Emma felt panic rising, as this was not the first time something like this had happened, and it wasn't the first time someone had accused her of causing it, somehow.

But magic wasn't real.

Was it?

As her anxiety rose, things in the room began to shake.

"Stop it!" Regina cried, and Emma could see the absolute fear in her eyes. Suddenly it didn't matter what she believed about the existence of magic,  _this_ was actually happening, right now, and she didn't know what to do.

"How?"

"I don't know," Regina admitted.

"No! No, you're insisting magic is real, so tell me how to stop it!"

Regina glanced toward the stairs, where David and Mary Margaret were standing, looking just as scared as she felt. She wanted them to step in, but they were making no moves to do so. She turned back to Emma and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Magic is emotion. You need to calm down."

"I can't!" Emma insisted.

"Try," Regina implored her.

Emma took a deep breath, and looked into Regina's dark eyes, trying to find her center there. She reached up and grabbed Regina's wrists, to make sure she didn't let go of her shoulders, and focused on controlling her breathing as she kept staring into Regina's eyes.

Slowly, her heart rate returned to normal, and the shaking and the flickering stopped, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"You believe now?" Regina asked, finally.

Emma glanced between her and the couple on the stairs and sighed. She didn't really see what other choice she had.

* * *


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I am having so much fun with this story. I hope you're all loving it too :)
> 
> Why did 1999 have to be such a terrible year for video game consoles? (You'll see why later lol)

"Are you girls alright?" Mary Margaret asked, as she rushed into the room once the magic had stopped.

Emma spun around to face her, but for once, she was at a loss for a witty comeback. Well, at least she thought she was witty, most of the time. What she saw in the dark haired woman's eyes looked an awful lot like genuine concern for their wellbeing, though Emma couldn't figure out why.

"We're fine," Emma said, glancing at Regina to make sure that was true.

For her part, Regina was looking back and forth between Emma and Mary Margaret, with a quizzical look on her face.

"What?" Emma asked.

"I think she's telling the truth about being your mother," Regina answered, noticing the resemblance between the two.

Emma scoffed. "My mother ditched me on the side of a highway when I wasn't even an hour old."

"That's not exactly how it happened, Emma," Mary Margaret said, taking a step toward her.

Instinctively, Emma took a step back. The truth was, she saw the resemblance too, just as she had with David, but she wasn't ready to admit it. How could she? Either these people were crazy, or they were really the people who abandoned her without a second thought, and she didn't know which was worse.

She had dealt with crazy with numerous foster parents.

She wasn't ready to deal with real parents. That was too foreign to her.

"Don't, just… please don't," Emma said, holding a hand up to Mary Margaret.

Mary Margaret nodded, and Emma couldn't help but note a little sadness in her eyes. "Some of the fairies will be here soon," she said, as she headed back down the stairs.

Once Mary Margaret and David were out of earshot, Regina turned back to Emma. "You do see it, don't you."

"I'm not talking about it," Emma replied, as she turned to flop, ungraciously, onto the bed behind her. "This whole situation is just too much to handle."

"I know," Regina admitted, sitting politely again, on the edge.

Emma sighed and sat back up, scooting over beside Regina. "Yeah, I guess it's not easy for you, either. Were you close to your dad?"

Regina nodded, not looking up. And then she sighed. "I guess if I'm actually an adult, then I must have already grieved him before," she said, nodding like she was trying to convince herself.

"Yeah, but, even if that's true… it doesn't mean you don't feel something now."

Regina put on that fake smile again. "I'm a lady, I know how to keep my emotions in check," she insisted.

"That's messed up," Emma sighed. "If you ever get sick of being a lady and you, you know, wanna talk about it or something, I'll listen."

Regina's fake smile started to look a little more real for the first time. "I appreciate that."

"So… these fairies… are they gonna like flit around spreading pixie dust and shit?" Emma asked, mentally trying to prepare herself.

"It depends. They can be small, but they can take on a human form as well," Regina shrugged, as if it were as normal a thing to say as anything else. Then she laughed. "You think these things are so odd. But these are the things I find odd," she said, motioning around her to the lights.

"No electricity in the Enchanted Forest, I take it?"

"I assume not, since I don't know what that word means," Regina admitted.

"And you're really a princess there?"

"Yes. Not an heir to the throne, by any means, but yes," Regina nodded.

Emma sighed. "You know, a part of me wants to believe this is all real, but… the sane part of me says it's impossible. Can you understand that? Because I need an ally in this, ya know?"

Regina nodded. "Me, too."

Emma glanced over to see green eyes peering up at her from the stairwell. "Yes, Henry?" she laughed. She got a kick out of how enthralled this boy was about all of this.

Henry grinned and headed the rest of the way up the stairs. "I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, or anything, I just wanted to see you guys," Henry shrugged, looking a little sheepish.

"My father's name is… was… Henry," Regina said, tilting her head as she looked at him.

"I know. You named me after him. Henry Daniel Mills."

Regina narrowed her eyes, and gave an impish smile. "Daniel is the name of the stable boy who works for my mother."

Emma picked up on the smile right away. "You have a crush on this stable boy?"

Regina blushed. It didn't take her much to figure out what a 'crush' was, and she was not about to admit anything so private to these people.

Emma noticed the perplexed look on Henry's face, and wondered if he knew something about this Daniel. She decided maybe it was best to ask him later, not in front of Regina.

"So, kid, you seem relatively normal," Emma commented as Henry pulled up a chair to sit across from them.

Henry laughed. "That's what you call me. Kid."

"I know," Emma said, rolling her eyes, "I just said it."

"No, I mean, the real you."

"This is the real me, kid. Emma Swan in the flesh."

"It's just… it's so cool to see you two like this. You guys are gonna think it's hilarious when the fairies change you back," Henry grinned.

"Oh, yes, where is Tinker Bell anyway? She sure is taking her sweet time flying her sparkly little pixie ass over here."

Henry laughed again. "Ok, first of all, the fairies don't fly in Storybrooke, they walk. And second of all, when you change back, my mom's gonna kill you for swearing in front of me."

"I thought I was your mom?" Emma said, and then laughed at the ridiculousness of the statement.

"I meant my other mom," Henry said, looking at Regina. Regina stared back at him with wide eyes.

When Regina didn't say anything, Emma took it upon herself to talk some more. She wasn't really used to such a captive audience, and she planned to milk it for all it was worth. "Storybrooke, huh? That's what they call this place?"

"Yeah. I'll tell you why later. If I tell you now, you're just gonna think I'm nuts."

"It couldn't possibly be weirder than everything else I've heard today."

"Trust me, it is."

"Ok… so… what do you do for fun around here? No offense, but this town looks boring as hell."

"Uh… I like video games?" Henry suggested.

"Sweet. My foster mother just got us the new Sega Dreamcast," Emma grinned.

Henry laughed out loud. "Oh my God, Mo-… uh, Emma. What year do you think it is?"

"1999?" Emma said, glancing at Regina for a moment, who looked confused as ever by this entire conversation.

"Emma, it's 2015," Henry laughed.

"Yeah ok, Marty McFly," Emma rolled her eyes. "Good to know that the world survived Y2K, at least."

This time, both Regina and Henry looked utterly confused, and Emma had to laugh. "Am I not speaking English anymore?"

"Yeah, you lost me," Henry nodded, "and we lost my m-Regina a while back."

Emma thought for a second. "I guess I'm actually Marty McFly though, since I'm the one who travelled to the future."

"Time travel's impossible," Regina finally chimed in, "even with magic."

"Welcome back to the conversation. So you mean I can blow out light bulbs with my mind, but I can't look ahead to the winning lottery numbers? Seems like a kind of shitty power to have, doesn't it?"

Regina was about to speak, when the three heard a new voice downstairs.

"I didn't expect a man fairy," Emma commented.

"That's not a fairy," Henry said, shaking his head. "That's Mr. Gold."

Emma interest was piqued. She stood up and creeped over to the stairs, peeking down at the man below.

"These, um, so-called parents of mine don't look happy to see him," Emma commented, as Henry joined her in her look out position. Regina stayed on the bed, observing the two little spies on the floor, rather than sating her own interest by spying herself. She may have wanted to, but she reminded herself she was a lady, and a guest in this home.

"He's my grandfather," Henry said. Emma thought it was an odd admission.

"Wait, if I'm your mom, then doesn't that make David your grandfather? Your like thirty-something year old grandfather?"

"My other grandfather," Henry said, rolling his eyes. "Like, my dad's dad."

"I slept with that dude's son?" Emma scoffed. "He looks like he's like a hundred."

"Try four hundred."

"Funny, kid," Emma said, jabbing him with her elbow.

"Emma? Regina?" Mary Margaret called from downstairs, "can you come down here, please?"

Emma stood up and glanced back at Regina, who looked momentarily panicked, but stood up anyway.

"Kid," Emma said, looking back at Henry. "You seem cool, and like the sanest person I've met here so far. You got our backs, right?"

Henry grinned and nodded.

"Okay, tell me right now, is it safe to go down there? Or do we need to climb out that window and make a break for it?"

"It's safe," Henry insisted.

"I'm counting on you, kid," Emma said, searching his eyes.

"Use your superpower," Henry suggested.

"How did you… nevermind," Emma shook her head. She reached for Regina's hand again, and they headed down the stairs, with Henry trailing right behind.

"My my," Mr. Gold said, as the girl joined the adults in the living room, "she looks exactly the same, doesn't she?" he asked, motioning toward Regina, and then looking to Mary Margaret, who just nodded.

"What happened to Tinker Bell?" Emma asked, trying to break up the tension she clearly felt in the room.

"It's a small town, Emma, and news travels fast, apparently. Someone at the diner alerted Mr. Gold," David explained.

"Now tell me, girls, what do you remember?" Gold asked.

"Waking up in a dungeon," Emma shrugged.

"Vault," Regina corrected her, softly by firmly. "With my mother's magical items."

"Cora, yes," Gold nodded.

"You know – uh, knew her?" Regina asked, her face suddenly lighting up.

"Taught her all she knew, dearie," Gold said with a small laugh.

Regina's expression darkened, instantly. "Dark magic, you mean?"

"Yes, Dearie, but we're not here to talk about your dearly departed mother. We're here to talk about your magic."

"Do you have any idea how they did this to themselves?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Any number of ways," Gold replied, in a dismissive tone.

"Well, can you fix it?" David pressed.

"Spells like this, generally tend to wear off on their own, in due time. Without knowing what spell they cast, I can't really counter it, now can I?"

"In due time? What's due time?" David asked.

"Could be a week, could be a month… again, without knowing the spell, it's impossible to say. It's not permanent, and that's about all I can tell you, dearie."

"So why did you come?" Mary Margaret asked, hoping there was something Gold could offer them.

No such luck.

"I just wanted to see the aftermath of Regina and Emma's careless magic. Regina has a penchant for casting spells she doesn't understand, it was only a matter of time, really."

Before anyone could speak again, Gold waved his hand and disappeared in a cloud of red smoke. Emma stared, gaping.

"Okay… okay I'm a believer. Holy crap," Emma said, still staring in shock at the place where Gold had stood.

"Should we call off the fairies?" Mary Margaret asked, turning to David.

"No, let's see what they have to say, too, when they get here."

No one said much in the few minutes that passed before there was another knock on the door. Mary Margaret quickly let the blonde into the loft, and turned back to the girls.

"Emma, Regina, this is… Tinker Bell."

Emma snorted again. "Yeah, okay."

"I thought you were a believer?" Regina whispered.

"Yeah but… Tinker Bell? C'mon, that's Peter Pan, Captain Hook, all that crap… you know?"

Regina shook her head, and turned her attention back on the fairy.

"Emma, I really am Tinker Bell. But everyone calls me Tink," in an Auckland accent that took Emma by surprise.

Emma watched Regina's face as they listened to David and Mary Margaret fill Tink in on the situation, and what Gold had said.

"Unfortunately," Tink said, once they were done, "I agree with Gold on this one. You're just gonna have to wait out the spell."

"Okay," Mary Margaret nodded, "but there's something else. Emma… her magic, it's already manifested itself since they changed back. Regina didn't have it at sixteen… how's Emma supposed to control it."

Tink looked at Emma and offered her a sympathetic smile. "I'll take you under my wing. Metaphorically, I mean. Both of you. Regina, you might not have had magic at sixteen, but you do as an adult and you might still, under this spell."

"Thanks, Tink," David said, when neither girl spoke up.

"Why don't I meet you at the diner tomorrow before you go to work? Bring them there, and I'll keep them out of trouble for the day," Tink said, winking at Emma.

"I wouldn't get in trouble anyway," Regina insisted.

"Trust me, it's not you I'm worried about."

Emma just grinned. Getting in trouble was what she did best, and she highly doubted a woman who thought she was a fairy tale character would be any match for her.

She was starting to think this whole thing might be fun, after all.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am just writing this story for the fun of it. There will probably be things that seem OOC and I'm not double checking that everything matches with canon. It's just a fun story that I hope is entertaining, because that's all I'm going for with this one.
> 
> Oh, and teen Swan Queen, leading into Adult Swan Queen!

Once Tink had left and David went back to work, Emma pulled Henry off into a corner as Mary Margaret went about teaching Regina about the wonder that was indoor plumbing. Emma really had to feel bad for the girl, as the culture shock for her seemed to be much more extreme.

"So, you believe it all now, right?" Henry asked, excitedly.

"Whoa, ok, I believe in magic, I guess. But the rest? These people being my long lost parents? You being my kid… yeah, um, I can't think about that right now."

"So… why are we having this secret conversation then?" Henry asked.

Emma sighed. "That guy, Daniel, that Regina was talking about. You know who he is, don't you?"

Henry nodded. "He was her fiancé, but he…."

"Died?" Emma asked, hazarding a guess. That seemed to be the fate of everyone in that poor girl's life.

"Yeah," Henry nodded.

"Dude, like, does she have anyone left?"

"Just us," Henry said.

Just us. Emma shook her head in disbelief. She had known this girl all of two hours, if that, and now she was supposed to just accept that she was one of the only people she had in this life? It was too much.

"Emma, I know this is hard to believe. I've seen you not believe stuff that was happening right in front of you before. But you know I'm telling the truth. Those are your parents and I am your son and Regina adopted me."

Emma felt a small pang of sadness wash over her, as she looked down. "I swore to myself I would never do to a kid what my parents did to me."

"It's ok. It wasn't the same and I forgave you a long time ago," Henry insisted.

Before Emma could say anything else, Mary Margaret and Regina were back in the room. Regina looked like her poor head was spinning with new information, and Emma offered her a small smile.

"It's getting late, you three all need to be getting to bed. Henry, you have school tomorrow. Emma, there's PJs in the drawers upstairs," Mary Margaret said.

"Yeah, I found those," Emma replied, remembering tearing through a drawer with plaid flannel pajama pants in them.

"Where am I going to sleep?" Regina asked, glancing around the tiny loft.

"You can take the bed," Emma shrugged. "I don't mind sleeping on the floor."

"We have a couch," Mary Margaret pointed out. "There's enough places for everyone to sleep."

Emma looked at Regina again. "Yeah, but… it's fine."

Truthfully, she wasn't sure if she wanted to sleep in the same room as this Regina for her sake, or because she, herself, didn't want to be alone. She was used to unfamiliar people and places, but this place felt very, very different.

Once Emma and Regina were both changed into some of Emma's pajamas, Regina climbed into the bed and watched Emma setting up pillows on the floor.

"You don't have to sleep on the floor," Regina said. "This is your bedroom."

Emma shrugged again. "It's fine. I wouldn't expect a princess to sleep on the floor," she said, with a grin.

Regina slid over a bit. "There's enough room for both of us," she said, timidly.

Emma laughed. "You're not worried that maybe this is how we end up having a kid together?"

Regina's eyes widened. "No, I … that's not what I meant. I just…"

"It's ok, I was kidding," Emma said, throwing her pillow back on the bed and climbing under the covers.

"So you think it's true then? That boy, Henry, is really your son, and I adopted him?" Regina asked, looking into Emma's eyes as they both laid on their sides, facing each other.

"I don't know what to believe," Emma admitted. "Part of me is expecting to wake up tomorrow in my own bed, and this was all a dream."

"What is it, exactly, that you're afraid of? Because I just lost two parents in one day, and you just gained two."

"That's exactly why I'm afraid," Emma admitted. "And hey, my offer still stands, if you want to talk about how you really feel about your parents."

"Not tonight," Regina said, closing her eyes. Emma took that as an indication that the conversation was over, but it took her well over an hour to finally fall into a restless, dreamless sleep.

In the morning, Emma blinked against the sun streaming through the window, and it took her a moment to orient herself to the new surroundings. Waking up in unfamiliar places was not that odd to her, but as she rolled over and saw the brunette in blue and green plaid flannel pajama pants and a white jersey knit shirt, the events of the evening before started flooding back to her.

It wasn't a dream.

"Good morning," Regina said, forcing a smile as she saw Emma stirring.

"Hey," Emma sighed, sitting up beside her.

"You talk in your sleep," Regina commented.

"Yeah? What did I say?" Emma asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

Regina didn't respond, but merely looked out over the stairs. Emma could hear voices downstairs and realized everyone else must be up already.

"Did you go down there yet?" Emma asked.

Regina shook her head. "No, I don't have any clothes here. I couldn't go down in this," she said, motioning to her outfit.

"This isn't a palace," Emma noted, "I doubt they expect you to look like a princess here."

"I still have some self-respect," Regina retorted.

"Well, there's clothes here which I guess belong to me, so I'm sure there's something you can borrow," Emma insisted, getting up to look at the wardrobe. She had forgot about all the leather jackets. Somehow, she couldn't imagine Regina accepting any of them to wear.

Emma rummaged through clothes until she found herself jeans and a plain tank top – essentially the same thing she had discovered herself wearing the day before – and found a plain knee-length skirt and an off-white thin sweater to hand to Regina. "Acceptable?" she asked, with a grin.

Regina took the clothes from her with a bit of a pout. "I suppose they'll have to do."

"Not my style either but… apparently they are," Emma said, shaking her head.

Once the girls were dressed, they headed downstairs to rejoin the family. Mary Margaret was busy feeding a baby, whom Emma assumed must belong to the crib she had seen the night before, and David and Henry were eating Fruit Loops at the table.

"Fruit Loops! Sweet! My foster mother won't buy these," Emma said, practically skipping into the room out of excitement, which garnered a huge grin from Mary Margaret.

"Good morning, girls! There's bowls in the cupboard and milk in the fridge," Mary Margaret told her, "help yourself."

Emma grabbed two bowls, a carton of milk and the box of cereal and headed over to the table. Regina followed her and sat down, staring at the cereal as Emma poured her a bowl. She was used to helping out the younger kids at the foster home, and though Regina wasn't younger, she still looked lost and in need of help. "You want milk?" she asked.

"I… I don't even know what this is," Regina said, staring at the bowl.

Emma laughed and handed it to her, without milk. "What it is, is delicious."

Henry watched with anticipation as Regina picked up a spoon and took a dainty bite of the cereal.

"What it is, is atrocious!" Regina exclaimed, which caused Henry and Emma to burst out in laughter.

"Regina, I'll make you something else," Mary Margaret cut in, handing off the baby to David.

"Who's this kid? Another wayward child of mine?" Emma asked, looking at the baby.

"This is Neal. He's your brother," David said.

For once, Emma found herself at a loss for words as she looked at the baby. Mother, father, son and now brother – she was acquiring family at lightning speed, and she didn't really like it.

She didn't really hate it, either.

After Mary Margaret had made Regina some oatmeal, which she graciously accepted in lieu of the Fruit Loops, and after Emma had taken it upon herself to eat said Fruit Loops after she had finished her own, because she 'didn't want to see them go to waste', the Charmings ushered the girls and Henry out the door just as Granny was showing up to watch Neal for the day.

The group was far too big all ride together, so David took Henry in his cruiser to school, and the girls got back in the truck with Mary Margaret.

"Do you want me to sit in the middle?" Regina asked, half expecting Emma to push her in the truck.

Emma glanced at Mary Margaret momentarily, and then smiled. "Nah, you can have the window this time," she said, climbing in the middle seat. Normally, she made any effort possible to be near an escape route, but the itch to run was already waning, and she kind of wanted to sit near this woman who claimed to be her mother, even if it was only to indulge in fantasy for a moment.

Because it couldn't be true.

"So… David's a cop. What do you do?" Emma asked, on the drive.

"I'm a teacher. At Henry's school."

Emma laughed. "You're a teacher at Henry's school and yet David is dropping Henry off? That hardly makes sense."

"I'll go there right after I drop girls off," Mary Margaret shrugged. "I just wanted to spend an extra few minutes with you."

Emma shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She wasn't used to people wanting to spend time with her. Mary Margaret smiled at her the way she had always imagined a mother would smile at her, but somehow, it was still weird. Parents – actual parents – were such a foreign concept to her, she wasn't sure if she'd ever get used to it. Even still, part of her really wanted to.

As they pulled up to the diner, they saw Tink waiting out front, as promised, with a big grin on her face.

After Mary Margaret said her goodbyes and promised to call to check in, she left the girls with the fairy to start the day.

"So, what's the plan, Tinker Bell?" Emma asked. She still couldn't say the name without laughing, and she fought the urge to ask the woman if she would die if they didn't clap for her.

"Well, I was thinking we could get you two some clothes that actually fit," Tink said. Regina shifted uncomfortably, visibly bothered by the comment on her appearance, even though there was nothing she really could have done about it. Emma just laughed again.

"All this chick owns is tight jeans and leather," Emma said, rolling her eyes.

"This 'chick' being you," Tink reminded her.

"Yeah, okay, whatever. I don't have any money though, how are we supposed to get clothes? I mean we don't expect you to buy them for us," Emma said.

"No, I'm not buying them. Regina will be. We're going to get her credit card," Tink grinned.

"You have a credit card?" Emma asked, raising her eyebrow.

"I don't even know what a credit card is," Regina said.

"Good," Tink smiled. "Then you won't mind us borrowing it, then."

"Where's your car?" Emma asked, looking around at the empty street in front of the diner.

"I don't have one. We're going to get yours from Regina's house."

"Shut up! I do not have a car," Emma said, grinning with excitement, hoping that she did, in fact, have a car.

"You do. I would say we would take Regina's Mercedes, but it's a two seater," Tink shrugged.

"You have a Mercedes? Yeah, I'm sure you won't mind us using your credit card," Emma grinned.

Regina just shook her head in confusion. "Yeah, sure, use it," she shrugged, having no idea what she was agreeing to.

"It's alright, it's not like money really exists here anyway," Tink shrugged, and looked for a moment like she was going to explain further, but changed her mind. "Come on girls, we have to walk to Regina's," she said, heading off down the street. Emma was quick to follow, but Regina lagged behind.

"What's wrong?" Emma asked.

"I'm so… I'm just confused. My home isn't here. It's in the Enchanted Forest."

"Look… you wanted me to believe yesterday, and now I believe. Now, you need to believe, okay?"

Regina nodded and caught up to Emma. Before long, the were standing in front of Regina's large, white house.

"Holy shit, Regina, you live in a mansion?" Emma said, taking in the sight. Her eyes darted around until they landed on the yellow Bug parked in the drive way. "Oh, please tell me that's my car!"

Tink just nodded as she made her way up to Regina's door.

"Can I drive? Please?" Emma asked, hurrying to catch up to her.

"Can you drive?" Tink asked.

"Yeah, I have my beginners," Emma insisted.

"I'll think about it. We need to get Regina's credit card, first," Tink said, pulling out a wand, seemingly from nowhere, and using her magic to unlock the door. She sighed and smiled when it worked.

"What was that about?" Emma asked, noting the look on her face.

"I lost my magic for a while. It's good to have it back," Tink shrugged, as she stepped inside.

Emma took off into the house, exploring, while Tink set off to find Regina's credit cards. For her part, Regina walked around, slowly, taking it all in. There were several framed pictures of Henry, with a woman who looked just like her, but older. She imagined this is how Emma must have felt when she found that driver's license the day before. Even knowing about magic, this was unsettling to her.

Moments later, Emma was back. "This is totally where we should be staying. There's like a hundred rooms here."

Regina nodded, absently.

"You ok?" Emma asked, stepping up to her.

"Yes. I just…" her voice trailed off as she traced her fingers over a picture of her adult self with Henry.

"You just believe now?" Emma asked, full of understanding.

"I might need to take you up on your offer, to talk about my parents. Later," Regina said, nodding as if she were confirming a plan with herself.

"Ok, yeah, any time," Emma nodded.

"Got it, girls!" Tink said, coming back into the room holding a platinum card.

Emma grinned. Nothing at all about any of this made sense to her, but she was beyond the point of even trying to rationalize anything anymore.

She was going shopping with Tinker Bell.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: To address the credit card theft, since some of you don't seem to be liking that too much… Remember, Regina will turn back to herself and be well aware of Tink's treachery, and have her chance to confront her on it. In addition, Tink is well aware that Regina will remember, and she thinks she has a pretty good defense for her actions.
> 
> Furthermore, it's Tinker Bell… she's not that adept at following rules.
> 
> And finally, like I said, I'm just writing this for fun. Some things will be OOC. This story is literally just stress relief for me, and I hope it can be for others too!
> 
> Thanks to everyone who has sent positive feedback so far, I appreciate it more than you'll ever know :)
> 
> Sorry this one is short, next one will be longer... next one is when Trouble Maker Emma starts to make an appearance :)

As it turned out, 'I'll think about it' actually meant 'no', when it came to Emma driving.

"But you said it was my car!" Emma whined, as she reluctantly climbed into the passenger seat. To Regina's misfortune, she didn't understand the rules of 'shot gun' and so was resigned to the back seat for the drive, not that she particularly cared either way.

"Yes, but I value my life, so I'm driving," Tink said, starting the ignition. When Emma had failed to provide any proof that she actually had a driver's licence, Tink had flat out told her she wasn't driving.

"What did you mean when you said money doesn't exist here?" Regina piped up from the backseat.

"Everything here was created by magic," Tink shrugged. "The economy is all for show. Storybrooke doesn't actually generate money, we just… kind of pretend it's all real."

"Why would you do that?" Regina pressed, suddenly very interested in what was happening. Emma wondered if seeing the photographic proof that she, too, was actually an adult in this world was enough to pique her interest for once. Or maybe she was just trying to keep her mind off her dead parents.

"I don't know, it's just the way the curse works, I guess," Tink replied.

"Curse?" Emma asked.

"Yeah, it's… hey, look, we're at the store," Tink said, slamming the car into park before she was even at a full stop.

"Don't treat my baby like that," Emma said, petting the dashboard. She had never really owned anything of value in her life, she didn't want this fairy destroying her car before she even got to drive it for the first time.

Tink smiled. "Sorry. I'm fairly new at this."

"I knew I should drive," Emma rolled her eyes, as she got out. She could see Regina struggling with the door handle, so she stepped back and opened her door for her. "Your Highness," she said, with a mock bow, like she was a limo driver for a celebrity.

"No one actually calls me that," Regina said, as she stepped out. "But thank you."

"You people don't have Hot Topic?" Emma asked, looking at the little clothing store they were about to enter.

Tink, having no idea to what Emma was referring, just shrugged and headed inside.

Inside, Emma was quick to find clothes she liked: mostly jeans that were not quite so skinny, and plaid shirts. Regina was having a little more difficulty.

"See anything you like?" Tink asked, walking up to her.

"I.. uh…" Regina stammered as she looked at a pair of tan pants, which reminded her of her riding pants.

"You're not a princess here," Tink pointed out, "you don't have to dress like one. If you like pants, get pants."

Regina smiled and nodded as she picked out some pants and some shirts, mostly in light blue, her favourite colour.

Tink brought the girls up to the cashier and handed over their pile of clothes, along with Regina's credit card.

"Mayor Mills' credit card?" the cashier asked, raising an eyebrow at Tink.

Tink grinned at looked at Regina. "She said I could use it. She can kill me later, if she wants."

The cashier shrugged, and rang the purchases through.

"I wouldn't kill you later," Regina insisted, as they headed out of the shop.

"I hope you remember you said that," Tink laughed. "I like you at this age, you know. So sweet and innocent."

"Am I not sweet and innocent at other ages?" Regina asked, looking mildly offended.

Tink laughed, though there seemed to be apprehension in her voice. "That's a conversation for another time, I think."

"Shot gun!" Emma yelled, as they reached the Bug again. "Unless I get to drive this time?"

"Not on your life," Tink replied.

"Then shot gun!"

"I don't care which seat I sit in," Regina insisted, confused at why Emma needed to announce her claim on something that Regina had no interest in taking from her.

"You're just saying that because you didn't think to call it first," Emma shrugged. Regina was struggling with the door handle again, so Emma stepped over to help her. "Just press this button, and pull."

"I would have gotten it," Regina insisted, annoyed that Emma seemed to think she was incapable of opening a door, and annoyed at herself for actually being incapable of opening a door.

"Don't be like that," Emma said, leaning in to Regina's ear as Tink got into the driver's seat. "You can have shot gun when we take the car out later."

Regina opened her mouth to say something, but Emma just winked and got into the front seat. "Where to now, boss?" she asked, looking at Tink.

"Back to Regina's so you two can change and then… I don't know, I didn't plan any further ahead than that."

Emma slumped back into her seat as Tink drove off, but only for a moment, before she popped open the glove box and started rummaging through the stuff there.

"Can you sit still for two seconds?" Tink asked, rolling her eyes.

"Nope," Emma shrugged, and pulled what appeared to be a small scroll out of her glove box. "What's this?"

"Give me that," Tink said, holding out her hand, "it's magic, and you don't need it."

"It's in my car," Emma insisted, putting in back in the glove box and shutting it.

"You know, I talked to Lily last night, after going to your parents'. She insisted you were a sweet, innocent girl, too," Tink told her.

"Maybe two years ago I was," Emma shrugged, not interested in having this conversation with Tinker Bell. Or anyone. Ever.

"Well, Regina still is, so let's keep it that way, shall we?"

"What, you think I'm gonna corrupt her?" Emma grinned. The thought had already crossed her mind.

"I think you really, really don't want to," Tink warned, though she made no effort to elaborate on that.

"I'm not going to be corrupted," Regina piped up from the backseat, having had quite enough of the two of them talking about her like she wasn't there. "I know how to behave."

Emma spun around in her seat, and turned to face Regina with a big grin. "Come to the dark side, Regina," she said, cupping her hands over her mouth and giving, in her opinion, and amazing Darth Vader impression. She sighed as the reference seemed to be lost on both Tink and Regina.

"Watch yourself, Emma," Tink warned, "darkness isn't a joke."

Emma rolled her eyes as they pulled up in front of the mansion again. This time, Regina figured out her door handle by herself, and Emma couldn't help but feel oddly proud of her. They both headed upstairs to change in separate bedrooms, and when Emma was done, she went off in search of Regina.

She found her in a room, sitting in front of a vanity.

"Hey," Emma said, entering the room, slowly.

"I think this is my room," Regina said, motioning to random items on the vanity. "Some of these things, I recognize."

Emma nodded and looked around, not quite sure what to do with this information. "You got nice taste," she finally commented, feeling like she should say something.

"My mother was horrible to me," Regina said, not looking up from whatever little item she was fiddling with in her hand. "Part of me is glad she's dead. I'm not sweet and innocent. I'm a terrible person."

"What does the other part of you feel?" Emma asked, coming to sit next to Regina on the vanity bench.

"I miss her," Regina said, looking up, her eyes wet with unshed tears.

"You're not a terrible person," Emma said. No sooner had she gotten the words out, did Regina let the tears fall, in spite of herself. Emma hesitated for a moment, and then reached out to pull Regina into a hug.

They stayed that way until Regina regained her composure, and pulled back from Emma, offering a small, weak smile. "Thank you."

"I told you, I got your back," Emma said, smiling.

Regina laughed, in spite of herself. "I don't even know what that means!"

Emma had to laugh, too. "It means I'll be your friend, and watch out for you. You can count on me."

"I've never had a friend before," Regina confessed.

"Yeah, well, now you do."

"You do, too," Regina said, with a nod. "I have your back, too."

"Good," Emma grinned. "And I will corrupt you, just you watch."

"I might just let you," Regina said back, with a kind of cheekiness Emma had not yet experienced from her yet.

This might be more fun than she thought.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have any suggestions of trouble you'd like to see Emma and Regina get into, feel free to post them in the reviews. I can't promise I'll take all suggestions, but I would love ideas… I'll keep this going as long as people keep reading, no reason to make them grow back up too quickly, right?

While Regina seemed perfectly content to sit at her vanity table and fidget with perfume bottles and hairbrushes, Emma could feel herself growing restless, quickly.

"I'm soooo boooored," she whined, getting up and walking across the room, only to flop herself across Regina's giant bed. "This bed is so soft," she commented, curling up in the middle.

"What would you normally do?" Regina asked, walking over to the bed, but refraining from getting on it.

"Right now, I'd be at school. Otherwise, I dunno, watch TV or something," Emma shrugged. "There's more fun things I would rather do, but unfortunately for us, we have a babysitter."

"Do you really think we'll be allowed to go out in your car tonight?" Regina asked. Emma had to laugh at the innocence of that question.

"We're  _not_  allowed. That's the point. We're gonna wait till everyone is asleep, and go do it anyway," Emma grinned.

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"You're going to disobey your parents?"

Emma sat up at that question, studying Regina's perplexed expression for a moment before speaking. "Look, those people, they might have made me, but they're not my parents. They ditched me on the side of the road. I don't owe them anything."

"They seem to want you, now," Regina pointed out.

"Well, that doesn't really change how much my life has sucked to this point, does it?"

"I suppose not," Regina admitted. "I just couldn't imagine disobeying my mother. If she caught me she would…"

"She would what?" Emma asked.

"I… I don't want to talk about it," Regina sighed.

"That's alright, I know what it's like to have a shitty life," Emma smiled, sympathetically.

"Can I assume that 'shitty' is not a good thing?" Regina asked.

Emma burst out laughing again. "Oh, wow, I have never heard anyone say 'shitty' so politely. And yeah, it's definitely not a good thing."

Regina looked at Emma in confusion, but decided against asking for further elaboration. 'Shitty' didn't sound like a word she wanted to add to her vocabulary, anyway.

"So, did you hear Tinker Bell say you're the mayor?" Emma asked, suddenly. "You're the mayor and I'm the sheriff. You and I basically run this town. How wild is that?"

"I highly doubt they want us running the town in our current states," Regina said, finally deciding to sit down on the bed.

"No?" Emma laughed. "I bet you have the keys to the city, though, somewhere. You must have an office. You think Tink would take us there?"

Regina just shrugged.

"You should ask her," Emma suggested. "Say you want to see your office. I bet she'll take us there!"

"Alright, but…" Regina started, and made sure she had Emma's attention before continuing, "I don't want to get in trouble."

"Fine. I promise that if we get in trouble, I'll take all the blame. I'm sure everyone will blame me anyway, since you're sweet and innocent, remember? Plus, I'm used to it. David and Mary Margaret don't seem like the type who would take a belt to my ass, so I'm not that worried."

Regina scrunched up her nose. "What are you planning?"

Emma shrugged. "Haven't decided yet. Let's go find Tinker Bell."

Emma and Regina headed back downstairs to find Tink sitting on the couch, watching TV.

"You're kind of a crappy babysitter, you know," Emma remarked. "We could have climbed out the window and been long gone by now."

Tink shrugged without looking up. "I put a spell on the whole house. You couldn't get out if you tried."

"Smarter than you look, I see," Emma laughed.

Tink smiled and shook her head. "Funny girl. Where's Regina?" she asked, finally looking over at them. Regina was staring in awe at the television.

Emma glanced at her and smiled. "I'll explain TV later," she said, before turning back to Tink. "Regina wants to ask you something."

"Yes?" Tink asked, looking at Regina expectantly.

Regina's eyes widened, and she looked back and forth between Emma and Tink for a moment. "I… uh… I'm the mayor, is that correct?"

Tink nodded slowly, clearly wondering what was up.

"Do I have an office?"

"Yes…." Tink said, narrowing her eyes on Emma, who tried to look as innocent as possible.

"Can we, um, see it?" Regina asked, fumbling on her words a little.

"Why?" Tink asked, standing up.

"I'm just, um… interested?" Regina stammered, looking at Emma for help.

"Yeah, we're bored, can you take us there?" Emma stepped in.

Tink looked back and forth between the girls for a moment, pondering her options. "You two better not be up to something." She mentioned both of them, but Emma could tell it was directly only at her.

"What could we possibly be up to at a  _mayor's_  office," Emma asked, "with our  _babysitter?_ "

"Ok, one, stop calling me your babysitter. And two, I don't know what you could be up to, but whatever it is, don't. Three… yeah, I guess I can take you."

Emma grinned. "I call shotgun!" she cried, heading toward the door.

"Whatever she wants you to do, Regina, just don't do it," Tink advised, as she headed toward the door.

Regina just sighed and followed behind. Her instincts told he to listen to the adult in charge, but Emma was so exuberant and magnetic, Regina had a hard time not wanting to follow her, no matter what she was up to. This was her first time having a friend, and she kind of liked it. And for once, she didn't have to worry about Cora breathing down her neck and correcting her behavior at every turn.

Emma seemed so carefree, and Regina badly wanted to know what that felt like.

When they got outside, Regina was surprised to see Emma sitting in the back of the car. "I thought you said 'shot gun'?" she asked, as she opened the passenger side door.

"Yeah, well, it's kind of bitchy for me to take the front every time. It's your turn," Emma shrugged. Tink smiled at her as she got in her seat, and Emma sat back, feeling pleased with herself. She hoped that this small gesture would help convince Tink that maybe she wasn't the delinquent the fairy seemed so intent on believing she was.

Even if it was all for show.

Emma noted that Tink seemed to have a real soft spot for Regina, and she wondered what the history there was. The fairy didn't seem to care deeply about Emma one way or the other, which didn't bother Emma in the slightest, but she seemed to have genuine concern for Regina. Emma was glad for that, because it meant that Regina had at least one person on her side, who wasn't Emma or Henry.

When they pulled up to the town hall, Tink took them around back to go in, rather than using the front door. Emma thought this was strange, until she saw Regina's face light up at something in the court yard.

"My apple tree!" Regina exclaimed, practically running to it.

"A piece of home," Tink commented, when Emma looked at her, confused.

Emma wasn't sure what that meant, but she headed over to where Regina stood, smiling under the tree.

"I still have something left," Regina said, once she noticed Emma approaching. Her eyes were shining and she looked genuinely happy. "I've tended to this tree since I was a child. It looks much bigger now, and something happened here," she said, running her fingers over a limb that looked like it had been cut down, "but it's the same tree."

Emma just nodded stared at the tree.

"You must think I'm so strange," Regina commented, as her face changed. She looked at Emma as if she were seeking her approval.

"Nope. Well, I do, but not because of this. It's a nice tree," Emma shrugged.

Regina smiled again, and looked back at the tree, proudly, for a moment longer, before finally turning to rejoin Tink at the back door.

"I thought you'd like to see that," Tink said, as she held the door open for the girls. Once inside, she lead them down the hall to Regina's office.

"Wow, this is a lot of… black and white," Emma said, looking around.

"You really do have a knack for stating the obvious," Tink laughed.

For her part, Regina was distracted, looking at a horse statue on the mantle. Tink went over to talk to her, apparently about the horse, and Emma set about looking in drawers, as quietly as she could. It didn't take long for her to find a key ring full of keys, and jam it into her pocket, with time to spare before Tink turned around to check on her.

She pretending to be looking at a paperweight on the desk, as Tink raised an eyebrow at her. "Mayor's office is more boring than I expected," Emma said, with a shrug.

"Right," Tink said, narrowing her eyes. "How about lunch?"

"Yes!" Emma exclaimed. Regina just nodded.

"Ok, we'll go Granny's," Tink said, leading the way back out. Regina couldn't help but notice the impish grin on Emma's face as they left the office, and she wondered if she had found what she was looking for. She wasn't quite sure she really wanted to find out.

Once they were in the diner, had looked at the menus and placed their order, Tink got up to go talk to a fairy she called 'Blue', while they waited for their food.

"She looks shady as fuck," Emma commented, eyeing up Blue from across the room.

"The Blue Fairy," Regina said, quietly, "she's supposed to hear your wishes and come and grant them."

"Oh yeah?" Emma asked, turning back to Regina.

"Supposedly. But she never came for me," Regina said, looking down.

"What did you wish for?" Emma asked.

Regina just shook her head, clearly not willing to offer up that information just yet.

"Check it out," Emma said, pulling the keys out of her pocket, and showing them discreetly to Regina.

"Those are the keys to the city?" Regina asked.

"Shhh, not so loud," Emma said, shoving the keys back in her pocket and glancing around to make sure no one had heard. "But yeah, I think they are. What else could they be?"

"So, now what?" Regina asked, her curiosity piqued.

Emma shrugged. "Well see when we go out tonight. I still gotta get my car keys from Tinker Bell, though."

"How are you going to do that?" Regina asked.

"No clue," Emma admitted. "But if I can't, then I guess plan B is to go back to your house and find the keys to  _your_  car."

"You're sure I won't want to kill you when I return to normal?" Regina asked, thinking back to what Tink had said earlier about the credit card.

"Honestly, Regina, I don't think you have it in you," Emma laughed.

"Do you think…" Regina started, as she fiddled with a napkin. Emma was quickly realizing that Regina always seemed to need to do something with her hands. "Do you think we can still be friends when we return to normal?"

"How do you know we weren't already?" Emma asked.

"Because I don't have friends," Regina reminded her.

"Maybe you  _didn't_  have friends, but we were together when whatever happened, happened. I think we were friends already," Emma replied.

"Alright, but, just in case… will you promise to still be my friend after?"

The desperation in Regina's dark eyes made Emma want to cry. She thought again to Henry saying that she was one of the only people Regina had left in life, and she intended to make sure she stayed in her life. This girl so clearly needed friends.

"I promise. Pinky swear," Emma said, holding up her pinky finger. Regina look at her, confused as ever. Emma grinned and grabbed Regina's hand, linking her pinky with Regina's. "Pinky swear just means I promise, but… more… than just a promise, I guess."

Regina smiled. "I like it."

"You have to promise to still be my friend, too, you know," Emma pointed out.

Regina nodded. "Pinky swear."

Emma grinned as she released Regina's finger. She couldn't see how they  _possibly_  couldn't be friends in their regular lives. This girl practically felt like her soul mate right now.

She thought maybe she was getting a little ahead of herself, since the only other friend she'd ever had in the world was Lily, and that had ended badly, but something inside her felt drawn to Regina, and she wasn't about to let that feeling go.

She just hoped the other girl felt the same way.

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: just a head's up, Hook is in this chapter, and there are mentions of Hook and Hood, but this is in NO WAY Outlaw Queen or Captain Swan... young Emma isn't a fan of Hook, just his alcohol ;) This is still Swan Queen all the way
> 
> Also, before anyone tries to tell me that Emma is out of character, remember she's 16, and by 17, she's a car thief. On top of that, there's a reason she's acting out, and will continue to act out more and more as the story goes on, and that reason will be brought up and dealt with before the story ends.
> 
> This is just the beginning of Emma's rebellion, and she's still relatively tame in this chapter. MagicalInsanity has given me some AMAZING ideas, and I'm planning on working quite a few of them into this story :)

After a quiet lunch, in which Tink and Regina made small talk, and Emma tried her best to look like she wasn't devising a plan to snatch her car keys from the fairy, they headed back to the car to go back to the loft, as Mary Margaret and Henry would soon be returning.

"Can I drive this time?" Emma asked. "Pleeeeease?"

"You can drive when your parents say it's okay," Tink said.

Emma reluctantly got into the passenger seat. "So that means you have to leave my car at their place," she said, as the realization dawned on her.

"That's the plan," Tink nodded. Emma smiled to herself, realizing she didn't need a plan to get her keys from the fairy, as she would have to leave them at the apartment anyway. She wasn't used to things working out for her this way, but she wasn't about to complain.

Once they were back at the apartment, Tink offered to take Neal so Granny could leave, but Granny insisted that perhaps it was better the other way around. Emma was slightly disappointed when Tink left, because it was obvious from the look in Granny's eyes, that they weren't about to get away with anything from her, but she smiled again as she watched Tink drop her keys off on the counter before she left, promising to see the girls again tomorrow.

The girls hurried upstairs with their bags of clothes to put them away in Emma's drawers.

"We  _really_ should be staying at your place, you know? We wouldn't even have to share a room there," Emma commented and she shoved clothes into a drawer.

"Why are you so opposed to staying here?" Regina asked, folding her clothes neatly before placing them in another drawer.

"I dunno, it just feels so… like…" Emma shook her head, not wanting to say 'like home', because who the hell was she to say what home felt like, anyway?

"Are you girls behaving up there?" Granny called up from downstairs. Emma rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Ma'am!" Regina called down. "We're putting our clothes away."

Emma smirked.

"What?" Regina asked, flashing those wide, innocent brown eyes at her.

"You! You're so… well-behaved," Emma laughed.

"Well, my mother taught me to respect my elders," Regina retorted.

"Hmm, well maybe I might have been a better person if I had a mother," Emma shrugged.

"You do, though," Regina insisted.

"Yeah, sure," Emma shook her head.

"You were so insistent that I talk to you about my parents. Why won't you talk to me about yours?" Regina asked, stepping closer to Emma.

"I… uh…" Emma stammered, just as she heard the door opening downstairs.

Henry wasted no time bounding up the stairs to see the girls. "You got new clothes," he commented, looking at them both.

"Regina has a platinum MasterCard," Emma smirked.

Henry's mouth dropped open. "Oh, she's gonna kill you."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Regina asked. "I said it was fine!"

"Yeah, I'm sure you had no idea what you were agreeing to," Henry shrugged.

"Well,  _Tinker Bell_  says money isn't real here, and this town is cursed anyway," Emma shrugged.

"She told you about the curse?" Henry asked, his eyes darting back and forth between each of his mothers.

"Well, not really. But I don't believe in curses anyway. I mean,  _come on_!" Emma said, rolling her eyes.

Henry just laughed. "Come on downstairs. I'm sure your mom wants to hear about your day."

The girls followed Henry back down to the main floor, just as Granny was leaving.

"Emma," Snow said, smiling. "Regina. How was your day, girls?"

Emma shrugged, "we got new clothes. Other than that, boring."

Regina stepped up from behind Emma, shooting her a bit of a glare. "We had a lovely day. Thank you, Mrs. Nolan."

Snow smiled. "You can call me Sn… Mary Margaret," Snow said, deciding it was still too soon to spring her real identity in front of Emma.

"We saw Regina's mansion," Emma piped up. "I think we should pack up and head over there. There's way more room."

"I think we need to respect Regina's home, because I don't know that she would like that, once you two return to normal," Snow insisted. "Plus, it's cozy here."

"Yeah, okay," Emma said, looking defeated.

"I'm going to start on supper, so it's ready when David gets off work. Do you girls want to help?" Snow offered.

"I would love to!" Regina grinned.

Emma groaned. "Ugh… that kitchen is too small for three people. Maybe I should just hang with Henry?"

"Alright," Snow nodded, knowing that forcing Emma to help her probably wasn't the best approach to win her over.

Emma turned to Henry as Snow and Regina headed to the kitchen. "Whatcha wanna do?"

Henry grinned. "Let's play Xbox!"

Emma was amazed by the Xbox. "Holy shit! This is awesome!" she exclaimed, as they started a two player first person shooter game.

Henry laughed. "You know, you play these games with me as an adult, too. You don't like the violent ones though."

"Well it sounds like I'm a cool Mom then… and a little lame. Why don't I like the violent ones?"

"Cause you suck at first person shooter," Henry shrugged. "My other mom won't even let me play this one at all."

"She's much lamer than me," Emma grinned.

"No, she's just… different," Henry said.

"Were we friends, before? Me and Regina, I mean?" Emma asked, suddenly more interested in her previous forgotten life than the game in front of her.

Henry paused it, and turned to her. "Kind of?" he shrugged.

"What's that mean?"

"Well, you guys fight a lot, mostly over stupid stuff. But you help each other out a lot, too. You are still a lot like you are now… well, maybe with less swearing and you're slightly more respectful," Henry laughed, "but you say what you mean and you're passionate… mostly about everyone else's happiness."

"Yeah, okay, and what about Regina?" Emma pressed.

"She's… different. Very different. She went through a lot of bad stuff, and it changed her."

Emma glanced back at the kitchen, at Regina smiling sweetly, helping Mary Margaret with dinner. The girl seemed so sweet and innocent – just as Tink had said – and she couldn't imagine bad things happening to her.

Emma was quieter and she and Henry resumed playing. He was right – she did suck at first person shooter – but she wasn't really into it, either. She finally threw the controller on the floor and slouched back on the couch. "So, tell me more about grown up me. Do I have a boyfriend? Or a girlfriend?" Emma grinned, jabbing Henry in the ribs with her elbow.

"Uh, you have a boyfriend. Why would you have a girlfriend?" Henry asked, turning the game off and looking at Emma, confused.

Emma shrugged. "Some girls do… I thought maybe that was something I'd be into."

"Maybe you shouldn't tell me this," Henry cautioned. "You know, in case it's not something you want me to know about, when you're you."

Emma shrugged again. "Well, unless I grow up into a total prude… tell me about this boyfriend."

Henry laughed. "His name is Killian and he's… he has a boat. And he's Irish."

"A man with an accent? Yeah, I could get on board with that," Emma nodded. "What about Regina?"

"She's got a boyfriend, too, named Robin. It's a bit more of a complicated situation though. He's got a son, and another baby on the way… with another woman."

Emma nodded, slowly. "That's kinda messed up. Poor Regina," Emma said, glancing back at her again.

"Yeah," Henry agreed.

"What about your dad? Is he here, too?" Emma pressed.

"He, um, he died, actually," Henry said, looking down.

"Oh, kid, I'm sorry," Emma said, putting a hand awkwardly on his shoulder. "Sorry, I don't really know how this whole comforting other people thing is supposed to go."

"It's okay. You did fine, when it actually happened," Henry assured her.

David walked in the door as soon as Regina and Snow had finished preparing dinner, bringing Emma and Henry's conversation to an abrupt end. Emma reluctantly helped Henry set the table at her mother's request, as David went to tell his wife about his day.

An awkward silence befell the table once everyone was seated.

"This is really good," David said, nodding to Regina and Snow, trying to get the conversation started.

"Thank you," Regina said, beaming. Emma couldn't help but smile at her smile.

"Regina's a good little cook," Snow nodded.

Emma turned wary eyes on her, and suddenly wondered if she should have gone to help with dinner. For people who claimed to be her parents, they were lavishing a lot of praise on Regina. Emma couldn't help the jealousy that was building up.

After dinner was more of the same. Emma sat and sulked while Regina talked to Snow and David about the Enchanted Forest and God knows what else that Emma had zero interest in, until she'd had enough and took off stomping up to her room.

"Oh, Emma," Snow sighed, and got up to follow her.

"Let me talk to her," Henry said, hopping up quickly.

Snow nodded, and looked back at David, sighing again.

"You know, you could be part of the conversation, too, if you didn't just sit there and mope," Henry said as he entered Emma's bedroom, where she was lying face down diagonally across the bed.

She rolled slightly so she could look at him. "I'm not moping. And I don't care. I don't want to be part of their stupid conversation."

"Yeah, you sound like you don't care," Henry said, rolling his eyes and sitting on the bed.

"I don't care. I got through my whole life without parents. I don't need them now," Emma said, defiantly.

"You actually like them, you know. You call them 'Mom' and 'Dad' and you love them," Henry said. "You still live with them."

"Good for me, then, I guess. They seem much more interested in Regina."

"Because she's actually interested in them and you barely speak to them," Henry pointed out.

"Whatever," Emma said, rolling back over.

Henry sighed and headed back downstairs. He wasn't really sure how to get through to Emma like this, and decided maybe it was better for her to get over her little tantrum on her own.

Emma stayed upstairs until Regina finally came up. "Everyone's gone to bed," she said, quietly.

"Good," Emma said, sitting up. "Did you have a nice time playing perfect daughter for the perfect family down there?"

"I… wasn't. I was just being polite and making conversation," Regina said, looking confused and a little hurt.

"Yeah, right. You're always being polite," Emma scoffed.

"Why are you mad at me?" Regina asked.

Emma sighed. "I'm not mad at you… I'm just… I don't know what I am."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Regina suggested.

"Nope," Emma said, shaking her head and finally getting off the bed. "I want to get ready to get out of here."

"You still want to go out tonight?" Regina asked, apprehension evident in her voice.

"Hell yes," Emma grinned.

The girls waited about half an hour, until they heard soft snores coming from downstairs, and they started their getaway. They crept down the stairs, and Emma peeked into David and Snow's room, to make sure they were both asleep, before tiptoeing past Henry sleeping on the couch, and grabbing the keys to the Bug.

Once they were safely outside, Emma howled with laughter at the look of pure terror on Regina's face. "Relax! Nothing's gonna happen. I already said, if we get in trouble, I'll take the blame… they're gonna blame me anyway."

Regina nodded, still unsure, as Emma unlocked the car.

"Shit, I didn't expect stick shift," Emma said, once the girls were in the car.

"Is stick shift bad?" Regina asked, bewildered.

Emma shrugged. "When I was thirteen I was at a home with these two older boys, and they taught me how to drive stick. When the parents found out, they sent all three of us back. I think I remember how."

"You think?" Regina asked, now panicking.

"It's fine, trust me."

"Where are we going?"

"Well, rumour has it I have a hot Irish boyfriend with a boat. There's docks around here. I'm gonna try and find him… see how good adult me made out, ya know?" Emma giggled as she got the car in gear and headed off. The drive was jerkier than she would have liked, but she had been a kid when she drove stick that one time, and she thought she was doing pretty well, all things considered.

"See, you're still alive," Emma laughed when they reached the docks. Regina had gone pale during the drive, and Emma worried that she might actually pass out. She got out and slammed the door, and Regina quickly followed.

"Holy shit, is that the Jolly Roger?" Emma asked, staring at the ship.

"What's the Jolly Roger?" Regina asked, as she stepped up beside her.

"You know, Captain Hook? Never mind, you don't know. Let's go check it out."

Emma glanced around, but there was no one out, so she made her way over to the ship. She stepped on to the boarding ramp and started to make her way up.

"Wait! Emma!" Regina called, from the dock below. "You can't just go in there, invited."

"I'm sure it's fine," Emma insisted. "I'm going in… either come with, or stay down there,  _alone_."

Regina sighed and quickly followed Emma up the ramp.

"Hello?" Emma called out, looking around the seemingly empty ship. "Hey, if no one's here, do you think we could figure out how to steer this thing?"

"The Jolly Roger is not here for joyriding." Emma spun around at the sound of an Irish accent, and grinned when she saw a good-looking man dressed in leather with a fairly noticeable silver hook.

"Captian Hook, I presume," Emma said, giving a mock bow.

"Killian Jones," he corrected.

"Oh, shit, you're Killian?" Emma gasped. "Shit! I'm dating Captain Hook?"

"Swan?" Killian said, his eyes growing wide.

"That's me. Regina and I had some sort of… magical accident. We turned ourselves young, apparently."

"Apparently," Killian agreed. "How old are you, exactly?"

"Eighteen," Emma lied, with a mischievous grin.

"I see," Killian said, glancing back and forth between Emma and Regina. "For how long?"

Emma shrugged. "Who knows? But we are bored as hell in this shitty town. Do you have any booze?"

Killian shook his head. "Slow down, love. I may be a pirate, but you're a minor."

"Yeah, but… not really. I'm an adult trapped in a teenager's body. Plus, if I can't get it from you, I'm sure I can get it someplace else… I noticed quite an array at Regina's mansion so…. If you'd rather we just go there unsupervised, then I guess we'll be on our way."

"Wait," Killian said, as Emma turned to leave. She turned back, smiling, as he held out a flask. She took a quick swig – straight rum – and it burned. She coughed a little, but tried to play it cool.

"Emma," Regina cautioned, her voice barely above a whisper. Emma ignored her as she took another, longer drink, and then held out the flask to her. Regina shook her head, and looked like she might cry.

"Regina, oh my God, it's just rum. It won't kill you," Emma laughed, shaking her head. She went to take another swig herself, but Killian stopped her, grabbing it from her hand.

"Take it easy," he warned.

Emma wasn't fazed. She bit her lower lip and turned on the doe eyes. "Pretty please?"

"Emma!" Regina said, again.

"What?!" Emma demanded, turning to face Regina. Her face softened when she saw how scared Regina looked.

"Can we please just go?" Regina asked.

Emma sighed and closed her eyes. She wondered if she should have come alone. "Fine," she said, grabbing Regina's hand and pulling her back toward the ramp. "See you 'round, Captain Hook."

Emma practically dragged Regina by the hand back to the car. "What the hell is your problem?" she demanded, when they reached the Bug.

"Emma, I… you're lying to your parents, you lied to that man, you're drinking… I don't want to do this. We're going to get in so much trouble!"

"What the hell did your parents used to do to you when you got in trouble?" Emma asked, shaking her head at Regina in disbelief. She didn't wait for an answer as she got back into the car. Regina quickly made her way around to the other side and got in, and Emma started to drive.

"Not my parents, just my mother," Regina said.

"What?" Emma asked.

"My mother… when I got in trouble… she used to punish me… physically," Regina said.

Emma cringed. She should have expected that one. "Well, she's gone now, so you don't have to be afraid of her. And I'd kick anyone's ass who tried to hurt you now."

"Why?"

"Because I'm your friend, and that's what friends do."

Regina just nodded, and they didn't say anything else for the rest of the short ride back to the loft. Once they were out of the car, they tiptoed back up the stairs and into the loft. Emma looked around, to see everyone was still asleep. To Regina's surprise, she actually looked disappointed.

They snuck back up the stairs to Emma's room, and got changed quickly, and climbed under the covers.

"I'm sorry I ruined your night," Regina whispered.

"You didn't," Emma whispered back, " not really. I don't know what the adult me sees in that pirate, to be honest."

"He seemed nice," Regina offered.

"He let me drink underage with barely any convincing. I'm sure there's a lot of other questionable things he might have let me do, if we'd stayed," Emma sighed. "You have a boyfriend, too, you know?"

"Who?" Regina asked.

"Beats me. But he got another chick pregnant. If I were you, I'd cut my losses and walk away. You don't need that baby mama drama."

"That doesn't sound like any kind of man I'd want to be with," Regina admitted.

Emma reached out and grabbed Regina's hand. "Fuck them. Who needs them? We got each other."

Regina smiled and squeezed Emma's hand back.

"And hey," Emma continued, "I'm sorry I kind of threw at lot at you at once tonight. But seriously, girl, you need to learn how to have a little fun, okay? 'Cause nothing bad is going to happen."

"Okay," Regina agreed, reluctantly.

Emma smiled. She was determined to corrupt this girl yet.


	9. Chapter 9

"Emma!"

Emma awoke to someone violently shaking her shoulders. She groaned and rolled over, opening one eye to peel at the offending party. "What the hell, Henry?" she whined, closing her eyes again and pulling the covers over her head.

"Emma, it's time to get up," Henry insisted, pulling the blanket away from her face. Emma groaned again and covered her eyes with her forearm.

"Why? It's not like I have school or something," she protested.

"Just get up. Regina's already up and dressed and helped make breakfast. Grandma says you guys have to go with Tink again today, unless you want to stay here with Granny. Trust me, Emma, take Tink… Granny won't let you get away with anything."

Emma smiled, in spite of herself. She moved her arm and peeked at Henry again, before remembering the events of the night before, and grabbing a pillow to throw at him.

"What was that for?" he cried, grabbing the pillow and throwing it back at her.

"That's for not telling me this boyfriend of mine is a total douchebag!" she said as she finally sat up.

"What… when did you meet him?" Henry asked, confused.

"Shit," Emma said, "last night. I, uh… shit."

"You snuck out?" Henry asked, grinning.

"Do not tell my… your grandparents, got it? Or when I am old again I will ground you till you're seventy."

"I won't," Henry laughed. "But, for the record, you've never once grounded me. And, also for the record, I've been trying to warn you about Hook for a while. You're just so… in love, or whatever."

"I doubt I'm in love," Emma insisted. "Plus, thanks for the heads up that he's Captain freaking Hook, by the way."

"Henry! Emma!" Snow called from downstairs.

"Come on, breakfast," Henry said, grabbing Emma by the arm and pulling her out of bed. Emma shook her arm free, laughing, as they headed down the stairs.

"Bacon?" Emma asked, grinning as she sat down at the table and grabbed a piece from the platter with her hand.

"Emma!" Snow scolded. "Utensils."

Emma rolled her eyes and picked up a fork, loading her plate up with bacon, eggs and toast.

"So David's going to drop you two off at the diner again, to meet Tink," Snow said. Emma nodded absently as she scarfed down food like she hadn't eaten in a year. Regina just stared at her, mildly appalled. For their parts, the Charmings and Henry didn't seem to notice or care, and she wondered if the adult Emma's table manners were just as atrocious.

"Hey!" Emma said suddenly, her eyes lighting up, "why don't I drive me and Regina to the diner?"

Snow and David exchanged worried glances. "I don't know if that's a good idea…" David said.

"Why? I have my license and my foster family lets me drive  _all_  the time!  _They_ actually trust me," she insisted, though it was a lie.

"Emma, it's not that we don't trust you," Snow started, glancing back at her husband for help.

"Yeah, it's just… Storybrooke is unfamiliar to you right now, and we don't want you getting lost," David added.

"Storybrooke is like one street, as far as I can tell. I can practically  _see_  the diner from right outside this door. You're not worried about me getting lost, you're worried about me getting into trouble," Emma said, crossing her arms and pouting.

"We wouldn't get into trouble," Regina piped up. Emma grinned, and looked back at her parents again, hopeful.

"How about we make a deal?" David suggested. "You drive to the diner, and I will follow you. If that goes well, then tomorrow you can drive yourself with no chaperone."

Emma pondered the suggestion for a moment. She had really just wanted to blow off Tink altogether, but this could work, too. If one more day with a babysitter bought her a ticket to freedom tomorrow, she supposed she could handle that. "Deal," she agreed.

After breakfast, Emma got dressed and they girls headed out to the Bug.

"You're parents are kind to you, Emma," Regina commented, once they were inside the car. "My mother never would have made a deal with me. She never let me have my way."

Emma shrugged. She didn't want to hear about how kind these people were. She didn't want to feel like they might actually care about her. She didn't want to care about them. She knew all too well how opening up to parents just ended in heartbreak every single time. How could it not? She was so unlovable, even as a newborn, that they had just tossed her away like trash on the side of the road.

And she tried to convince herself she didn't care.

She refused to care.

She started the car, and drove more carefully than she ever had in her life on the short trip to the diner. Once they arrived, she pulled carefully into a parking spot and smiled as she shut the car off, and got out to face David, in the cruiser behind her.

"See?" she asked, motioning to the car. "All in one piece. I'm a good driver."

"Not bad," David agreed, as Tink stepped out of the diner to meet them. "Now, behave yourselves. If you give Tink any trouble, at all, deal's off. Understood?"

Emma scowled and nodded. She didn't like all these conditions.

"Where to today?" Emma asked Tink, once David had left.

"Library," Tink smiled, reaching to take the car keys from Emma.

"Hey! I get to drive now!" Emma cried.

"Not when I'm in the car," Tink said, as she headed over to the driver's side door. Emma groaned and got into the back, letting Regina remain in her spot in the passenger seat.

"I don't  _want_  to go to the library," Emma whined.

"You don't have a choice. Belle needs some help with something. Either you come with me, or I can take you back to your place and you can hang with Granny all day," Tink said with a small laugh.

"Fine," Emma said, rolling her eyes. A few short years ago, she had loved reading. It was an escape for her. As she got older, she found escape in other things, like petty theft and underage drinking, and suddenly books didn't have the appeal for her that they once did.

There were several people in the library that morning, and Emma had zero interest in being gawked at. She had lived in small towns before, and she was well aware at how fast gossip travels. By the looks and stares she and Regina were getting, she was pretty sure it was safe to assume that everyone knew who they were at this point.

"Does this place have like a study room or something? Some place private?" Emma asked Tink. "Because these people are staring at us like we're the freak show or something."

"You can go upstairs," Belle suggested, overhearing her. "To the clock tower. Not much to do there, but you could take some books with you."

Emma grabbed a random book off the shelf, and the girls made their way up the clock tower.

"Do you feel that?" Emma asked, as they sat down on the wood floor once they had reached the top.

"What?" Regina asked, looking around, confused.

"I dunno… the air feels different here. Like it's heavy? Or something. You don't feel it?" Emma asked.

Regina shook her head, and moments later noticed something odd. Little white sparks were flickering from Emma's fingertips as absent-mindedly tapped them on the book she was holding. "Emma," she said, pointing to Emma's hands.

"What the hell?" Emma gasped, dropping the book. Regina picked it up quickly and opened it.

"Elvish," she commented, holding it up to Emma. "This is a magic book. It's magic you're feeling."

"What does it say?" Emma asked, staring at the foreign lettering on the page

Regina shrugged. "I don't know. I can't read it."

"Let me see it," Emma said, holding out her hand. Reluctantly, Regina handed it over. Emma took the book in one hand, and wiggled the fingers of her other hand around, producing more white, sparkly magic. "This is so cool!"

"Emma, please be careful," Regina cautioned.

"Oh my God! Would you lighten up?" Emma asked, exasperated. In her annoyance, the white sparkles turned to flames. She looked at them and gasped. She shook her hand as if she were trying to shake a spider off, and flames flew everywhere. The magic was weak and the flames dissipated quickly, but not quickly enough, as the sprinklers above them started to spray.

"Shit!" Emma cried, and grabbed Regina's hand, dragging her back down the stairs. "We're gonna get in so much trouble!"

As they ran back into the library, Emma realized that the sprinkler system was all connected and the library was under a downpour as well. Townsfolk were scrambling, trying to keep dry, as Belle stood on the counter, trying to reach the control panel.

"What did you do?" Tink demanded, looking directly at Emma.

"Nothing!" Emma insisted. "It was an accident!"

"It was her!" a man called out, pointing at Regina. Regina ducked behind Emma as more people gathered, throwing out accusations. Emma put her hands up, as a subtle warning for everyone to stay back, as Regina held on tight to her shoulders. Emma looked around the room in disbelief at how quickly everyone had just turned on Regina, and wondered what the hell everyone's problem was.

The carpet was soaked and everyone was drenched by the time Belle got the sprinklers turned off. No one seemed to notice, as the small crowd were still voicing their opinions and blame onto Regina. Emma heard the words 'witch' and 'dark magic' and 'evil queen' and couldn't understand how any of those things could possibly pertain to this terrified girl hiding behind her.

"Alright!" Belle called out, from her spot still standing on the counter. "Everyone go home and get dry, and leave these girls alone!"

The group continued to grumble and hurl random insults as they begrudgingly made their way to the door.

Emma spun around to face Regina, whose eyes were now red from crying. "It's okay," Emma said, instinctively wrapping her arms around the girl. Regina stiffened at the initial contact, but then relaxed, finally hugging Emma back as she continued to sob.

"What happened?" Tink asked, standing behind Regina so she could face Emma.

Emma looked up from Regina's shoulder, but didn't break off the embrace. "It was an accident, I swear. It was magic and I … I don't know, there was fire, but it went out, but the sprinklers still started. I couldn't stop it, it just … happened."

Tink nodded. "But it  _was_  you? You promise."

"Yeah," Emma nodded. Regina had stopped crying, so Emma broke off their hug, and turned to Belle, who was looking around at her destroyed library with dismay. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do any of this."

Tink stepped up beside her and pulled out her wand. With a wave, the library was dry again. "Magic – when you can control it – can be a very useful tool, Emma. It's driven by your emotions, however, and seeing as how you managed to accidently produce fire, it would appear that your angsty teenage attitude is going to be a problem."

"Why do all these people hate me so much?" Regina asked, quietly. She was looking at the floor, and she didn't notice what Emma saw: Tink and Belle exchanging worried glances. Neither of them seemed to be overly eager to offer a reason.

"Because the people here suck," Emma said, putting her arm around Regina's shoulder. "Like, not you guys," she added, motioning to Tink and Belle, "but most of them."

Belle headed over to the door and flipped the sign to 'closed', before locking it. "Let's just finish this, uninterrupted," she said, heading back over to Tink and grabbing the book they had been working with before the little monsoon hit.

Emma and Regina headed over to the chairs in the corner to sit down.

"I think there's something they aren't telling me," Regina said, quietly.

Emma nodded. "I think you're right," she agreed. "But I still got your back, no matter what."

"Those people… those things they were saying… they were calling me evil and a witch. What if I grew up to be like my mother?" Regina asked, her eyes pleading with Emma to say something to make it all better.

"Well, I didn't know your mother, but I know you, and I don't think you have an 'evil' bone in your body. If you did, you wouldn't be afraid of sneaking out and lying, would you?"

"I suppose not," Regina agreed. "But still…"

"Yeah, there's something going on, I know," Emma nodded. "All the more reason for me and you to stick together."

Regina sighed and nodded, reaching out to hold Emma's hand as they sat and waited for Tink and Belle to be done. Suddenly, Emma didn't feel anxious and antsy, sitting quietly. She liked holding Regina's hand. She started to wonder about what their real relationship was like, because sitting here like this, she couldn't understand how she had ever chosen a pirate over this girl sitting right beside her. She wondered if Regina could feel the same connection she was feeling.

Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't nothing, and Emma was determined to explore it.

**To Be Continued**


	10. Chapter 10

"What happened at the library today?" Snow asked, as she entered the loft after work that day, Henry in tow. David hadn't finished his shift yet, and Emma and Regina were on the couch – Regina, reading a book and Emma flipping absently through channels on the TV, her legs flung over one arm of the couch. Tink had gone home for the day, and Granny was at the table, feeding Neal his bottle.

Emma shrugged but didn't look up. "A magical accident. Apparently, I have a knack for them, or something," she said, sounding completely uninterested.

"It was you?" Snow asked, surprised.

"Yeah, why?" Emma said, finally turning to face her mother. The silent warning in Emma's eyes was apparently lost on Snow, as she continued to talk.

"Everyone said it was Regina," Snow said, "I just assumed, because of the fire…" she let her voice trail off as Regina turned to look at her with wide, scared eyes.

"Why? Why would fire make you assume it was me?" Regina asked.

"Nothing, honey, nothing," Snow stammered.

"Maybe we should-" Henry started, before Snow cut him off.

"No. It's fine. Not now," she warned.

"What the hell are you not telling us?" Emma demanded, as she stood. "There is something fucked up going on here, and we deserve to know what it is."

"Emma! Language!" Snow gasped, as if her young daughter's profanity still shocked her.

Emma rolled her eyes. "I'll watch my  _fucking_  language when you tell me what the  _fuck_  is going on!" Emma shouted, just as her father entered the loft.

Snow gaped in disbelief, as David walked up to Emma. "You will  _not_  speak to your mother like that. Go to your room!"

"What?" Emma laughed. "You cannot be serious!"

"Now, Emma," David said, sternly.

"You're not my fucking parents!" Emma cried, "and this is bullshit!"

David took another step towards Emma, and she ducked, raising her hands to block her face. The movement stopped David dead in his tracks, as the colour drained from his face. "Emma, I wasn't going to hit you," he said, softer.

Snow rushed over, in an attempt to hug her daughter, but Emma stepped back. She held her hands up, defensively, to warn her mother to not come closer, and sniffled as her lip started to quiver. She took a deep breath to calm herself. "You can't punish me for asking a simple question! It's not fair!"

"Ask the question in a respectful manner and perhaps we would consider answering you," David said, calmly.

"We would like to know what's going on here. Those… people… in the library. They were calling Regina evil and saying horrible things. We – she deserves to know why," Emma said, as calmly as she could manage, as she tried to avoid meeting the eyes of either of her parents.

"She's not ready," Snow said, softly, looking towards Regina. For her part, Regina just sat, and stared, in silence. She couldn't imagine speaking to her own parents the way Emma was now, and she wasn't sure she even wanted to know why the people had called her evil before. She feared she really wasn't ready for the answer.

"We're not fucking children!" Emma shouted, before turning to stomp up the stairs. David wasn't sure if she was just trying to get away from them, or if she was aware that she wasn't about to get away with swearing  _again_.

Snow let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head. "What are we going to do? We're not cut out for this."

"You'll be fine," Granny said, as she stood and handed Neal to David, before putting a reassuring hand on Snow's shoulder. "She's a teenager and she hates the world. She likely hasn't learned how to express herself properly at this point, and she lets her anger out in all the wrong ways. You know this isn't how she is forever, just try to remember that."

Snow nodded, slowly, as she wiped a tear from her eye. "Thank you," she whispered.

Granny smiled. "You've all seen Ruby. Just imagine what she put me through! But she came around, and so will Emma. Giver her time," the old woman said, as she patted Snow's shoulder once more, before heading home for the day.

"Should I go talk to her?" Henry asked, looking at his grandparents with wide eyes.

David eyed the stairs for a moment, and then shook his head. "Let her come down when she's ready."

"I'm sorry," Regina said, as she stood to walk over to Snow. "This is all my fault. I shouldn't have gotten so upset over what those people said, and then Emma wouldn't have felt the need to protect me."

Snow shook her head. "You are not responsible for someone else's actions," she said, "Emma makes her own choices, and so do you. And, for the record, she always protects you, even when you don't want or need it. Apparently, it's innate. Now, would you like to help me get dinner started?"

Regina smiled and nodded, following Snow into the kitchen. David set about getting Neal changed, while Henry headed into the other room to start on homework.

"I knew you, before," Snow said, as she started to pull ingredients for chicken stew from the fridge, "in the Enchanted Forest. When you were eighteen."

"Really?" Regina asked, smiling. "Is that why Mr. Gold asked you if I looked the same?"

Snow nodded. "Yes. And you do. It's like déjà vu whenever I look at you now. I was ten and I worshiped you."

Regina let out a small laugh of disbelief. "Me? Why?"

"You saved my life," Snow said, simply. "My horse took off and was about to throw me, and you rose up and saved me."

Regina smiled. "So, I'm not evil then?"

Snow took in a deep breath. "You… made some mistakes in your life, Regina. You made some terrible choices. But, you atoned for them. No, you're not evil."

"Then why do the people think that?"

"We'll talk about it later," Snow said, "but don't worry about what those people say. You're safe here with David and me, no matter what people think or say to you, okay? And so is Emma, regardless of what she thinks of us."

"You really love her, don't you?" Regina asked.

Snow nodded. "Yes, of course. She's my daughter. I missed raising her, but… I never knew how much she resented me at this age."

"She doesn't as an adult?"

"No. Well, I don't think so. If she does, she's not nearly this vocal about it. We've had rough patches, but things are generally good."

"I think Granny's right. She'll come around," Regina said, smiling.

Upstairs, Emma lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She was already regretting her outburst, but it was so hard to control her temper and her mouth. She tried to remember what it was like to be herself at fourteen, before she started acting out. It seemed like a lifetime ago, and she wondered if  _that_  Emma was lost to her, forever.

She had been so full of hope then, but she had to wonder how much rejection and disappointment one person was expected to endure before they just snapped? And how was she supposed to accept these parents who wanted to parent her now, but ditched her on the side of the road like she was trash sixteen years ago?

Even in this home with them, they had their new baby and they had Regina. What did they need her for?

She got up and crept part way down the stairs, quiet enough that no one seemed to notice. She sat down and watched her mother and Regina in the kitchen, talking and smiling. She knew that could be her, but something was standing in the way.

She shook her head. That couldn't be her. Every time she got close to something like this, something would happen and she'd lose it all. Her walls were her only protection, and she wasn't about to drop them now. Not for these people. But maybe for Regina… maybe.

As she watched Snow, she didn't notice David approaching until he was on the third stair. She didn't move, but just watched him as he kept climbing, until he sat down beside her.

"You know, she'd love it if you joined her," he said, looking over at Snow and Regina.

Emma shrugged and shook her head. "Cooking's not really my thing. Plus, I thought I was in trouble?"

David smiled. "I'd let you off the hook if you gave cooking a try," he suggested.

"And if I don't?"

"I'll still let you off the hook if you sit and talk with me."

Emma sighed. "Okay," she reluctantly agreed.

"You know, you and I are actually kind of close, when you're an adult," David informed her.

Emma let a little smile creep on to her lips. "I always figured I might have been a daddy's girl. You know, if I had a dad."

"You do, Emma. I'm right here," David insisted.

"Yeah. You are. But where were you the last sixteen years?" Emma asked, turning to him with solemn eyes. "I needed you."

"I know, Emma. I want you to know, your mother and I, we would have never given you up, if we'd had any other option. We wanted you so much, and we loved you. We still love you. We gave you up, to give you your best chance."

Emma shook her head and looked away. "You thought my best chance was on the side of the interstate, alone?"

"It was better than the other option, trust me. And you weren't alone, August was with you," David said,

"Who's August?"

"The boy who the newspaper said found you. He didn't find you, he was with you. He was there to protect you," David explained.

"Protect me?" Emma laughed, turning back to David. "He was a kid! I didn't need him, I needed  _you!"_

"I know. Emma, I know. I would give anything to change what happened, believe me. Your mother and I, neither of us will ever forgive ourselves for missing out on you growing up, even though it was really out of our control. And no matter how much you test us right now, trust me, we're happy to get a chance to experience you at this age."

"My magical mishap is not some sort of second chance, for you to alleviate your guilt, or whatever. Being here now, it doesn't change anything. It doesn't change all the shit I've been through. It doesn't take away all the nights I cried myself to sleep, or all the families who didn't want me, just like  _my_  family didn't want me. You can claim you did all you want, but your actions tell a different story. Tell my  _mother_ I won't be down for dinner!" Emma spat, as she stood and stomped back upstairs.

She flopped herself back down on her bed and buried her face in her arms, trying to hold back the tears threatening to fall. She had sworn to herself on her fifteenth birthday, that it was the last time she would cry over people who didn't want her. She wasn't about to break that promise to herself now.

Let Regina play house with them. Soon enough, this would all be over, and she would magically grow up. If her adult self had made peace with these people, then so be it, but she didn't see a real need to do so now. She had gotten by so far without them, she didn't need them now.

She sighed and sat back up on the bed, stretching out her fingers and remembering the magic from earlier. She thought she could feel it again, just below the tips of her fingers, but she couldn't seem to make anything happen. She wished she had brought that book with her.

Then she got an idea. She slid her hand between the mattress and box spring, and felt to make sure Regina's keys to the city were still safely tucked away where she had hidden them. Tonight, she would go back to the library and get that book back, whether Regina cared to accompany her or not.

She wanted to feel that magic again. She wanted to feel strong. Screw her parents' rules and screw the lousy people of this town, and screw Tinker Bell's notion that Emma's teenage angst would make her magic dangerous. Since when did she take advice from a fairy?

"God, this place is ridiculous," Emma sighed, as she placed a hand on her now growling stomach. She decided she would also need to find food while she was out, because she was damned if she was going to go down to dinner now. Snow looked like the lecturing type, and they both would probably expect an apology.

She didn't owe them shit.

**In the next chapter: budding teenage Swan Queen romance in the clock tower ;) lol**

* * *


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Warning for a little het kissing with Emma and a male OC, but it's short and it's necessary to drive the plot further... you'll see ;)**

* * *

After dinner, the family retired to the living room to watch TV, and Regina grew concerned that Emma  _still_  hadn't come back down. She started to wonder if she should have followed her up in the first place, knowing that's what Emma likely would have done, if she'd been the one who left upset.

She excused herself politely, and started up the stairs, quietly, trying to decide what she should say. Her mother would have never tolerated this amount of insolence and disrespect from her, and she just couldn't understand how the Charmings could react so calmly to the whole situation.

When she got upstairs, she saw that Emma was asleep, laying diagonally across the bed. She hesitated for a moment, and then walked over, shaking her lightly on the shoulders.

"No, I don't want… please," Emma whined in a sleepy slur, "ugh… Regina?" Emma finally blinked up at her.

"Hi," Regina said, tentatively.

"Was I asleep?" Emma asked, sitting up and making room for Regina to sit down.

"Yes."

"Did I miss dinner?" Emma smirked.

"Yes."

"Are they pissed?"

"Does that mean angry?" Regina asked, looking at Emma with confusion in her eyes.

Emma laughed. "Yes. Are they angry?"

"I don't think so," Regina shrugged. "I think your mother is just sad. She saved a plate of dinner for you, for whenever you want to eat. She loves you, you know."

Emma shook her head. "I don't care. She doesn't even know me. I'm going out tonight."

"Emma," Regina sighed.

"You don't have to come. I want to get that book back, from the library. The magic one," Emma explained.

Regina hesitated for a moment, and then sighed. "Will you be upset with me if I don't come?"

"No. I'm used to being on my own. Don't sweat it," Emma said, flopping back onto her back on the bed and staring up at the ceiling.

Regina paused for a moment, and then laid back beside Emma. "I wish you would just stay here."

Emma turned to look at her, green eyes meeting wary brown ones. "I can't. This place is suffocating me. I need to get out. If you don't get it, it's cool. I don't expect you to understand me, okay?"

"I'll come with you."

"Regina… you don't have to. It's okay," Emma insisted.

"If I don't, I'll just worry about you the whole time you're gone," Regina said, with a small smile. "And I might miss you."

"Yeah?" Emma asked, raising an eyebrow. "And what if I told you I was going to stop at your mansion and raid your liquor cabinet, too?"

"Well, if you're going to my house I most certainly must accompany you," Regina said, in a teasingly serious tone.

"Well," Emma said, trying to replicate Regina's tone, "if you are going to accompany me, you most certainly must have a drink with me, princess."

"And if I don't?"

Emma shrugged. "I can't think of a reason why you wouldn't. Can you?"

"I suppose not," Regina admitted. "I have wine when we attend dinner parties. I'll be fine."

"So you do like to live on the edge, you badass," Emma laughed.

"Is badass-" Regina started to ask.

"It's a compliment," Emma interrupted, "trust me."

After getting Henry to show her how to reheat food, Regina took Emma's dinner up to her, and then came back downstairs, spending the rest of the evening downstairs chatting with Snow and David about the Enchanted Forest, while Henry came upstairs to check in with Emma. After convincing him she was fine, and so over it, she got him to show her how her iPhone worked, and she set an alarm for 1:00am.

She shook Regina awake when it went off. "Ready, princess?" she asked.

Regina inhaled deeply, calming her nerves, and nodded. The girls got up and got dressed in absolute silence. Emma put the phone and the keys to the city in her pockets, and they tiptoed downstairs. Emma grabbed her car keys and the two headed back out the door, just like they had the night before.

"Maybe one day I'll teach you how to drive," Emma said, as she started the car and they headed off down the road towards Regina's mansion.

"I don't think I could do this. I prefer riding horses," Regina admitted.

"A horse is a million times scarier than a car. A car doesn't kick or bite or spit at you," Emma pointed out.

"Horses don't spit!" Regina exclaimed.

"Oh, right, yeah. That's camels I think. I don't know. Animals aren't my thing," Emma shrugged. "This town is so weird. Like it's only one and there is literally no one on the streets at all. You think maybe they don't have any bars here or something?"

Regina looked around. "Normal people sleep at this time," she reminded Emma.

Emma laughed. "I never claimed to be normal," she insisted, as they pulled up into Regina's driveway.

"Shit," Emma said, as she pulled out the ring of keys from her pocket.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, it never occurred to me that we don't actually have a key to your house," Emma sighed, shaking her head.

"Oh. So, no liquor then?" Regina asked.

"Please," Emma laughed. "Backdoor. We're getting in."

She headed off around the house, Regina following right behind, until she found the back door and tried the handle. "Figures you'd be the type to lock your house like Fort Knox!"

"What's-"

"Never mind." Emma pulled off her light hoodie and wrapped it around her hand before punching a hole in the window next to the door, and reached in to unlock the handle from the inside. "Don't kill me for this when you're back to normal."

"Please, don't say that," Regina said, quietly.

"Sorry. I was kidding," Emma said, as she pushed the door open and set off looking for Regina's alcohol supply. It didn't take long. "I'm like a bloodhound," Emma laughed, as she began pulling down bottles. "Shit, Regina, you've got, like, everything!"

Regina looked at the bottles in confusion. "What is all this? I've never seen bottles like this," she admitted.

Emma grinned and shook her head, as she scooped up a couple bottles. "Let's go."

"I thought you wanted to have a drink?" Regina reminded her.

"When we get to the clock tower. Grab some glasses," Emma said. Regina complied, and followed Emma back to the car. Emma put the liquor in the backseat, and Regina held the two glasses in her hands as they headed towards the clock tower.

"What if you make more fire?" Regina asked.

"I won't."

"What if you do and you set the sprinklers off again?"

"I won't!"

"How do you know?"

Emma shrugged. "I don't."

Regina sighed and stopped asking questions as they pulled up in front of the clock tower. Emma grabbed the bottles from the back and put them on the ground as she started fiddling with keys, trying to find the right one.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing!" a voice came from behind them. Emma and Regina both spun around to face a boy, who looked about fifteen, staring at them.

"Who the hell are you?" Emma asked, crossing her arms over her chest. She was not about to be intimidated by a boy.

"My name's Cody and my dad does maintenance on the clock tower and you're not supposed to be here," Cody insisted.

"Your dad does maintenance, so why are  _you_ here?" Emma challenged, a small smirk on her face.

"What? I asked  _you_  first!"

"No, you asked what I was doing, and that's none of your business," Emma retorted.

"Well, from back here it looked like you were trying to break in," Cody replied, dryly.

"Do I look like the kind of girl who breaks into buildings?" Emma asked, feigning surprise as she held her hand to her chest. In spite of herself, Regina let out a small giggle, which caused Emma to laugh as well. "Listen, dude… if we give you one of these bottles, will you run along home and not tell daddy?"

Cody looked down at the alcohol and met Emma's eyes again. "Are you gonna burn down the clock tower?"

"No," Emma shook her head. "I just left something there earlier, and I'm gonna grab it and go home."

"Well, give me that vodka and I might go home, but it's gonna take more than that to buy my silence," Cody said, with an unmistakable glint in his eyes.

"One kiss," Emma offered, "and you keep your mouth shut."

"One kiss from each of you," Cody said, smirking.

"Not a chance," Emma said, without even looking at Regina. She didn't have to turn around to know that her eyes just got wide with fear. If she had to guess, she would guess Regina had never kissed anyone. "One kiss, from me."

"With tongue," Cody said, "or no deal."

"Fine," Emma sighed, rolling her eyes, before stepping up and giving Cody what she promised. Regina bit her lip and looked away from embarrassment. Emma tried to keep it short, but when she tried to back away, Cody grabbed her neck to try to keep her close.

Emma pushed him back, hard, and he staggered a few steps. Emma reached down and held up the bottle of vodka. "One kiss, and here's your vodka. Now get the fuck out of here."

Cody grabbed the bottle, roughly, and stormed off.

"The clock maintenance man needs to reign in his son," Emma scoffed, as she grabbed the keys and tried three more, before finally finding the right one. "We're in!"

Regina stayed quiet as Emma picked up the remaining two bottles, and they headed inside. Neither of them said a word as they ascended the stairs.

"Rum or whiskey?" Emma asked, holding up the two bottles as she slid down the wall into a seated position.

"I… don't know," Regina said, as she sat down to join her, and handed her the glasses.

Emma shrugged and opened the rum, pouring two shots. "Cheers," she said, clicking her glass against Regina's.

"Oh!" Regina cried, as she choked down her shot. "It burns!"

Emma laughed. "Hell yes it does!"

"I don't like it," Regina said, shaking her head and handing the glass back to Emma.

Emma shrugged. "Suit yourself," she said, as she took another shot, straight from the bottle, and then picked up the magical book discarded earlier that day.

Regina watched her as she flipped absently through pages, and in spite of herself, found her gaze moving from the pages to Emma's hands and up to Emma's mouth. She felt herself start to blush, and she was glad, for the moment, that Emma wasn't looking at her. She waited a few minutes to get herself under control before speaking.

"Emma," she finally said, tentatively, as she looked down and played with the hem on her shirt. "How… how did you know what to do? With that boy?"

"What? You mean kiss?" Emma asked, smiling at the innocence on Regina's face.

"Yes," Regina nodded.

"You've never kissed anyone before?" Emma asked.

"No," Regina shook her head, solemnly. "What is it like?"

Emma grinned. "You never even practiced on your friends?"

Regina scrunched up her nose. "I didn't have friends," she reminded Emma.

Emma nodded. "Right, I forgot. Well, if you wanna know what it's like, it's easier to show than tell. You remember that woman we saw at the diner that first night? The one who knew me? When we were fourteen, we spent a night in her parents' cottage, and she taught me how to kiss. I could teach you, if you want," Emma offered.

Regina's cheeks flushed, and she picked at her hem for fervently. "I… I don't know. I shouldn't have said anything."

"It's fine," Emma laughed. Kisses are just kisses, they don't mean anything. A kiss isn't a big deal, it's just, like, nothing."

"Are you sure?" Regina asked, finally looking up again.

"Yes," she said, shifting up to her knees so she could turn to face Regina. "Just relax, close your eyes, and follow my lead."

Regina nodded and closed her eyes, as Emma cupped her face in her hands and leaned in, brushing her lips softly against Regina's at first, and then a little harder. She could hear Regina's breath quicken as she guided her lips open a little and slid her tongue in. In that moment, she started to feel the now-familiar spark of magic again, only this time, it wasn't in her fingers, but her lips. She broke the kiss of quickly, and stared at Regina, wondering if she felt it, too.

Regina's eyes fluttered open, and she gaped at Emma for a moment. "That is what you call 'nothing'?" she asked.

Emma shook her head quickly. "You felt that too? That spark? On our lips?"

Regina nodded. "Is that not normal?"

"That was magic," Emma said. "That was definitely not nothing!"

"It felt nice, though," Regina said, and immediately began to blush, again.

Emma grinned. "Yeah, it did. Wanna do it again?"

Regina drew in a sharp breath. "I… um…"

Emma laughed. "It's just me, Regina. You don't have to be nervous. Just say whatever you want to say."

"I don't know what to say. Everything I've ever been taught tells me what we just did is so wrong, but…"

"But it didn't feel wrong, did it?"

"No, it didn't," Regina admitted. "And I think I want to do it again."

Emma smiled. "Your wish is my command, your highness," she laughed, as she leaned forward to kiss Regina again. They were both more relaxed this time, and the magic was less of a sudden spark, and more of a warm, tingling sensation, like nothing Emma had ever felt before.

After more than a few long moments, Emma broke away again, looking into Regina's dark eyes. A smile danced over her lips. "Did you feel that, too?"

Regina nodded, solemnly. "Does that make me bad?"

Emma laughed and leaned forward, putting her forehead against Regina's for a moment, before leaning back again and looking at her, seriously. "No, it doesn't. I don't know the rules of the Enchanted Forest and I'm sure your fucked up mother wouldn't approve, but this is the real world and your mother's not here. It's just us."

"Are you sure it's just us?" Regina asked, as they heard a noise coming from downstairs.

Emma cringed. "Shit! That asshole Cody must have told his dad!" she whispered. "We gotta hide."

"Where?" Regina asked, looking around, incredulously.

Emma gathered up the bottles and the book and headed towards the darkest corner. Regina picked up the glasses and followed her quickly. They huddled in close and Emma clamped her hand over her own mouth, to try to force herself to stay quiet.

"Emma! Regina!" they heard David's voice yelling from downstairs.

"It's your father," Regina whispered.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious," Emma said, moving her hand from her mouth. "Someone must have called the cops. And he's the cops."

"Should we just reveal ourselves?"

"Hell no," Emma said. Realistically, she knew it was the best option, but making good choices was not really her strong point. She wanted David to have to search for her. She wanted him to be mad when he found her. Experience had taught her that acting out was the way to get attention, and as much as she hated to admit it, she was jealous of the attention Regina was getting from these so-called parents of hers.

She had been disappointed when they didn't catch her sneaking in the night before. Tonight, they didn't have a choice. They knew she was out. Maybe David would know she was drinking, too, and he could see how fucked up she really was. Maybe then they would see how abandoning a baby creates a screwed up kid, and take a little responsibility for once.

Or maybe it was wishful thinking on Emma's part.

Either way, she wasn't going to make it any easier for David, since he had made nothing in life easy for her.

"Emma! I know you're here! Your car's outside!" David yelled. Emma could hear his heavy steps on the stairs now, and she knew it wouldn't be long. She grabbed Regina's hand and squeezed it, partially in apprehension and partially in excitement. She felt the magic again – warm, tingling – moving through their hands. The way Regina's eyes met hers told her Regina felt it, too.

Emma watched the harsh white light of the flashlight search the floor as David made it to the top of the clock tower. It was mere moments before it landed on the girls, huddled in the far corner, clinging to each other. Regina's eyes were wide and terrified. Emma's her mischievous as an impish grin spread across her face, almost of its own volition.

"Sneaking out, taking your car without permission, breaking and entering,  _and_  drinking? Emma, what the hell were you thinking?" David asked.

Emma supposed she shouldn't be surprised that the blame would fall completely on her. Her father was well-aware that none of this was Regina's idea, and that was fine, since Emma had already sworn she'd take all the blame if they ever got caught.

Emma simply shrugged. "I was bored."

"Not good enough. Get up, I'm taking you both home. We'll talk about the consequences there," David said.

Regina got up quickly, and since she still had a death grip on Emma's hand, she pulled her up, too. Emma rolled her eyes at her father. "What, are you gonna ground me?"

"At this point, I honestly don't know, Emma," David said, exasperated. "But this reckless behavior is completely unacceptable."

Emma laughed. "Well, sorry, but I didn't have any parents to teach me right from wrong," Emma spat, as she dropped Regina's hand and pushed past him, heading for the stairs.

David grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "How long are you going to hold that over us? I told you, we didn't have a choice."

"How long? Well, let's see: I spent sixteen  _fucking_ years of my life being tossed from home to home to home because no one wanted me. Even my own parents didn't want me. Do you know how that fucking feels? For sixteen years I've wondered why I wasn't good enough. What was wrong with me? What made me so unlovable that my own parents tossed me like garbage on the side of the road?"

Emma paused, watching David's expression for a moment. "So, sorry if it makes you feel bad,  _dad,"_ she continued, "but I've had sixteen years of feeling like a worthless piece of trash, because of  _you_ , and you're going to tell me that  _my_  behavior is unacceptable? What you did is unforgivable!"

"Emma!" David cried, stepping over to block her as she tried to walk away again, "it was either send you away or let Regina kill you."

Emma eyes went wide, and she stopped dead in her tracks. "What?"

David sighed. He knew Snow didn't want the girls to know any of this, but he couldn't take Emma hating them anymore. Something had to give. "Girls, sit down," he said, "it's a long story."

After calling to check in with Snow, and let her know the girls were fine, David joined them on the floor and gave them the condensed version of the Evil Queen and curse story. He skimmed over a lot of details, mostly to shield Emma and Regina from the horrors that Regina had caused in the past.

When he was finished, he turned to Emma. "Do you understand now?"

Emma looked at him, and then to Regina, who had been silently crying for most of the story. "Can we go home, now?" Emma asked, refusing to answer his question. She needed time to process.

David nodded, and started leading the way back down the stairs. For once, it was Emma who was first up to follow, and she reached her hand down to Regina. Regina looked up, surprised, but took it.

"Don't you hate me now?" Regina asked, quietly.

Emma squeezed her hand, reassuringly, and felt that increasingly familiar surge of magic between them. "No. That story sounds like a load of crap to me. I mean, come on? Evil Queen? Snow White? That's some Disney bullshit right there. This guy's clearly unhinged."

Regina nodded, and followed Emma back down the stairs. She didn't understand what 'Disney bullshit' meant, but if it meant Emma still liked her, then she didn't really care.

The short car ride back to the loft was awkwardly quiet, as Emma and Regina sat in the back of the cruiser together.

"Would you believe this is actually my first time in the back of a cop car?" Emma asked, trying to break the uneasy silence. "Apparently, not my last though, since I had Henry in prison. How did you guys honestly not know how fucked up I was if even the kid knows I was in jail?"

"You took the fall for someone else's crime," David said, flatly. "You were innocent."

"Well, then I clearly was at least cavorting with criminals. No one is innocent," Emma said, rolling her eyes. What did these people think of her? She wondered what the adult version of herself was like, since her parents seemed to expect a perfect angel from her sixteen-year-old self.

David glanced at her in the rear view mirror, but didn't reply. Emma had to wonder if the thought had never crossed his mind that innocent people don't just find themselves in prison one day. She didn't know what this crime was that she took the fall for, but even she was smart enough to know that she had to at least be associated with the criminal to take the fall for the crime.

No wonder her parents thought they were Prince Charming and Snow White. They were living a fucking fairytale. Asking Emma to believe in magic was one thing – she had witnessed it, more than once. She could even get passed grown ass adults calling themselves Tinker Bell and Captain Hook. What she could not accept was that her parents put her in a magical tree because the sweet girl next to her was trying to murder an infant.

It was too much.

Suddenly, the urge to run was strong than it had ever been for Emma. Only this time, she knew she had to take Regina with her. They had to get the hell away from these people.

 


	12. Chapter 12

Snow was still up and waiting, impatiently, when David brought Emma and Regina home. She stood across the room, with her arms crossed and her lips pursed as David ushered the girls inside. Emma tried to duck out and run upstairs, but Snow stepped over to block the way.

"What in the hell do you think you were doing?" she asked, in a harsh whisper. Emma could tell she was pissed, but it was hard to take her seriously when she was speaking in such a hushed voice, to avoid waking Henry and Neal. Emma tried to hide her smirk, but memories of kissing Regina mixed with the currently look of anger on Snow's face – which somehow looked hilarious to Emma - was too much.

"I went out," Emma shrugged, unable to stifle the little giggle at the end. She was pretty sure the rum that was hitting her now wasn't helping the situation, either.

"You  _snuck_  out," Snow corrected. "I was worried sick about you!"

"Why?" Emma asked, "I can take care of myself."

"You're sixteen!" Snow reminded her.

"Yeah, exactly, sixteen. Not six. I've run away from five homes since I was thirteen. I've spent weeks on my own before. I think I can handle a few hours in a quiet town like Storybrooke," Emma scoffed.

"Have you been drinking?" Snow asked, catching the hint of rum on Emma's breath.

Emma rolled her eyes. "You seriously wanna lecture me on my life choices right now,  _Mom_? You put a new born infant in a fucking tree for crying out loud. I guess bad decisions are genetic."

Snow's eyes shot up to meet David's. "I had to," he mouthed to her in the dim light.

"Emma," Snow said, her tone softening.

"Don't bother," Emma said, pushing past her to run up the stairs.

Regina stood awkwardly, watching Emma until she reached the top, and then looking back at Snow with wary eyes, awaiting the punishment that she was sure was about to be doled out upon her.

"Go," Snow said, shaking her head and stepping out of the way completely so Regina could follow Emma up. Snow walked over to David and put her hand on his chest. "What are we going to do?"

"Remember what Granny said, she's not going to be like this forever. Remember, she grows into an adult that loves us," David reminded her.

"But what about in the meantime? We can't just let her run amok through Storybrooke. But she hates us. How are we supposed to control her acting out without giving her more ammunition to use against us? We can't punish her."

"She doesn't hate us," David insisted. "If she did, she wouldn't care enough to get this upset. She's just scared and she's got all her defenses up."

"So, what do we do?" Snow asked, again.

"I'm not sure," David admitted.

Upstairs, Emma and Regina sat on the bed in the mostly dark room, inches from each other, but not touching. Even without the physical contact, Emma could still feel the magic flowing between them.

"My mother used to use magic to restrain me when I disobeyed her," Regina said, breaking the silence they had shared since they came upstairs.

Emma turned to look at her. Even in the dark, Emma could see that Regina was far, far away, lost in her memory. "What do you mean, restrain?"

"She would use anything that was around, like rope or leather straps or even tree branches, and use her magic to wrap it around me so tight I couldn't move or even breathe. On more than one occasion, she squeezed me so tight I broke a rib," Regina said, her voice shaking.

Emma cringed, imagining what that would have been like. "You didn't break a rib. She broke your rib," she corrected.

Regina turned to face her, her eyes wide. "Is there a difference?"

Emma nodded. "Yeah, a big one. It's not just something that happened, it's something she did to you. It's called abuse and, no offense, but your mother sounds like a psychopath."

"I'm sorry I keep telling you that your mother is kind to you. My mother hurt me in a lot of ways, but your parents hurt you, too," Regina acknowledged. "I thought I had to love my mother just because she was my mother and that's what good daughters are supposed to do. I never fought back."

"How could you? She had magic that could break your bones. You were smart not to fight back."

Regina smiled, but shook her head, sadly. "I'm not smart."

Emma sighed and put an arm around her, pulling her close, strengthening the tingling magic between them. "Yes, you are," she said, as Regina let her head fall onto Emma's shoulder. "And both of us might have screwed up lives but we have each other now, and we make each other stronger."

"How can you believe that your parents put you in that tree, but not believe that I became evil?" Regina asked.

"I have met a lot of horrible people in my life, Regina, and you are not one of them. Maybe you did make terrible choices along down the road, but… evil? I just can't believe that. Everyone sees what they want to see, and just because that's how David saw you, doesn't mean that's how you were. I mean, he said you spent years trying to kill my mother, and yet, she seems to love you, so how can I believe it?"

Regina nodded, and breathed a sigh of relief. "My biggest fear has always been that I would turn out like my mother."

Emma nodded, but remained silent for a while, just holding Regina and thinking about everything that had happened over the past couple days. She was used to living in a whirlwind of changes – new places, new people – but this was so different than anything she'd ever experienced.

"Those people," she said, finally, "my parents… I can see that they care about me, but… I don't know how to deal with that."

"What do you mean?"

"Most people in my life don't care. Foster families treat me like a meal ticket, and nothing is ever permanent. When I was little, every time I went to a new home and met new parents, I would think, 'this is it. If I'm really good, this is the family that will keep me.' And I would try so, so hard, to be the perfect little girl. But every family sent me back, in the end."

Emma paused, and shuddered at the memories of childhood loss and disappointment, before continuing. "When I got older, I realized no one was ever going to want me, and it was easier to reject them first. I never let myself get attached to anyone, because no one ever stayed. The first person to care about me, was Lily, but she turned out to be a liar and she hurt me so bad. Then there was Ingrid, the first foster mother to ever care about me, and she even wanted to adopt me, but she turned out to be insane and tried to kill me."

"Emma, I'm so sorry," Regina said, softly, no really quite sure what she could say to help right now.

Emma nodded. "It's okay. By the time I even met Ingrid, I was already labelled as a 'runner', because I would run away from homes. I let my guard down with her, and I got hurt, again. I decided I was just better off alone, and I swore I would never let myself get close to anyone again. But then, I met you."

Regina stiffened nervously for a moment, realizing the weight of what Emma had just said. "How do you know I won't hurt you, too?"

"I don't," Emma confessed, "I just really hope you won't."

"I don't want to," Regina said, "but if what David said is true-"

Emma cut Regina off with another kiss. It caught Regina by surprise, but she relaxed the moment she felt that magic pouring between them again, warm and comforting and reassuring.

"I never knew this is what it would feel like," Regina said, when they finally broke their lips free from one another.

"It's never felt like this with anyone else," Emma said. "I've never kissed anyone I really liked before."

"You like me?" Regina asked, sounding surprised.

"Yeah," Emma admitted, feeling her cheeks flush a little. She was glad for the darkness in the room at that moment.

"I think I like you, too," Regina said, smiling.

"You think?"

"Well, I've never liked someone before, I don't know what it's supposed to feel like," Regina explained, with a nervous laugh.

Emma smiled, and yawned. "It's late. We should get some sleep before we get carted off to Tinker Bell in the morning," she said. Regina nodded, and they both slid under the covers. In the dark, Emma reached out for Regina's hand, and held it as they both drifted off to sleep.

Not surprisingly, Regina was already up and dressed and downstairs when Henry came to wake up Emma. Emma groaned and swatted at him blindly as he shook her shoulders.

"Emma! Seriously, you have to get up now," Henry said, exasperated.

"There is literally no reason I have to get up," Emma whined, "like, I could just stay here and sleep all day and it wouldn't matter at all."

"Maybe if you slept all night instead of sneaking out, you wouldn't be so tired," Henry pointed out.

Emma finally opened her eyes. "You knew about that?"

"I heard grandpa on the phone when Cody's dad called," Henry said, as Emma sat up and rubbed her eyes with her palms.

 _Cody_ , she cringed. She had almost forgotten about that asshole.

"Is he a friend of yours? Cody?" Emma asked.

Henry shook his head. "I know him from school, but we're not friends."

"Good. Because he's an idiot. And anything he says to you about me is a lie, got it?" Emma asked, realizing for the first time that her actions from the night before might have an effect on Henry, in the form of getting teased at school by the boy who kissed his mother the night before. She wasn't used to having to worry about the effect her actions would have on anyone but herself.

"Ok, fine," Henry agreed. "But it's seriously time to get up."

"Yes, yes, mustn't keep Tinker Bell waiting," Emma laughed.

"Uh, I think they're gonna make you stay with Granny today," Henry said.

"What? Why?" Emma cried.

"Because they don't think Tink is doing a great job of keeping an eye on you. And Granny has experience with out of control teenagers."

"I am not out of control. I am in complete control, just not theirs," Emma pointed out, as she finally crawled out of bed. "I guess, as long as I have to stay here though, I can have a nap on the couch later."

"There's the optimist Emma we all know and love," Henry teased, as he followed her down the stairs.

Snow nervously flitted about in the kitchen, trying to look busy, and Emma guessed she was trying to avoid the awkwardness of the morning after a fight with her daughter. David was nowhere around, and Emma guessed he must have gone into work early. Regina sat at the table, picking at her toast, and looking oddly nervous herself.

Emma slid into the chair across from her. "What's wrong?"

Before Regina could answer, Snow stepped into the room, handing Emma her breakfast. "We've decided that you're going to stay here with Granny today, while Regina goes with Tink."

"We?" Emma asked, looking at Regina again, before looking back at Snow. "We who? You and Regina?"

"We as in your father and myself," Snow corrected.

"Why do I have to stay and Regina gets to go?"

"We think it would be good for you two to spend some time apart," Snow said.

"No, you just don't want me to rub off on your precious Regina anymore," Emma said, crossing her arms defiantly. She looked at Regina again, who looked visibly hurt by the comment. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that," she said.

"She's not rubbing off on me," Regina said, softly.

"This is bullshit," Emma insisted. "We don't want to spend time apart. It's not fair."

"It's only for a few hours, and I think it will be good for both of you. And the decision is final, Emma," Snow said, just as Granny entered the apartment.

Emma slouched down in her chair, fighting back the tears that were stinging at the corners of her eyes. She didn't say another word as Snow ushered Henry and Regina out the door, she just continued to sit, not eating, while Granny went about fussing over Neal.

"Are you just going to sit there all day pouting like a petulant child?" Granny asked, after quite some time had passed.

Emma glanced up to see her standing, leaning against the kitchen island, arms folded over her chest. She might be an old woman, but Emma could tell she had zero tolerance. "I'm not a child," Emma said.

"Well, you could have fooled me," Granny retorted.

"What the hell is your problem?" Emma snapped at her.

Granny crossed the room and sat down at the chair across from her, where Regina had been sitting earlier. "I'm not the one with the problem, child, you are."

"Yeah, I've got a ton of them, actually," Emma agreed, "that's why I'm so fucked up."

"First of all, you will not use profanity in my presence," Granny said, in a hard tone. Emma wasn't used to taking orders, but something in Granny's eyes told Emma she was absolutely not to be trifled with, and there would be no pushing of buttons with this one. "Second of all, there is nothing wrong with you. You're just reacting to the situation you're in the best way you know how."

"If it's the best way, then why am I in trouble?"

"The best way and the best way you know how are two very different things," Granny pointed out. "You don't know how to react properly to any situation, and that's your biggest problem. You make everything worse for yourself."

"Everything already is worse," Emma said, "I'm living with the parents who abandoned me, how much worse can it get?"

"They saved you," Granny corrected.

"What would you know about it," Emma grumbled, looking away.

"I was there," Granny explained, "who do you think knitted that little white baby blanket of yours?"

Emma's eyes snapped back onto Granny's. "I still have that," she said.

Granny smiled. "Good. I'm glad it meant something to you," she said, reaching a hand out to place on top of Emma's. "But here's the thing, child. Everyone is so concerned with Regina right now. They are worried about how she's going to react to all of this when it's over, and rightfully so. Regina has been through hell and back in her life, and she doesn't always react wisely. You, the adult you, somehow managed to outgrow a lot of this irrational, self-destructive tendency that you have right now, but Regina, she grows right into it."

"No one's worried about you," Granny continued, "because they're sure the adult you will handle this just fine. And you will. You'll smile and laugh it off and apologize to your parents for being so hard on them, but that's the problem, child. Deep down, you're going to be left with this deep regret because all you've ever wanted is your parents, and you're pushing them away right now. You're not doing your adult self any favours right now."

Emma looked down at the table again, trying to understand exactly what Granny was telling her. "It's not exactly an easy situation," she said.

"No, child, it's not. But you're not making it any easier," Granny pointed out.

"So, what am I supposed to do? Just forget about everything? Act like it's all okay, like they never sent me away?"

"That's not what I'm saying at all," Granny said, shaking her head. "Your abandonment issues are something you will likely struggle with, your whole life. What I'm saying is, let them be your parents. You don't have to forgive them, until you're ready, but I know you want a mother and father to love you and hug you and care for you. You always have, haven't you? Well, child, they're here, now, and you have the chance to take it. Don't waste it."

Emma nodded, slowly. "I'm not sure I'm ready," she admitted.

"That may be true, but you also don't know how much time you have left at this age. I don't want to see you add this time to the list of regrets you carry with you, child. It's already weighing you down."

"Okay," Emma said, "I'll think about it. Thank you."

"Where do you think you're going?" Granny asked, as Emma got up to leave the table.

"I'm gonna go watch TV," Emma said.

"Oh, no. I heard about what you pulled last night. You are not off the hook just because we had a heart to heart. Come on, there are dishes to be done," Granny said, as she headed to the kitchen.

Emma scowled as she picked up her plate from the table and followed Granny into the kitchen.

* * *

Sometime after lunch, after Granny had run Emma ragged with chores all morning, she finally let the teenager have a break. After letting her nap on the couch for nearly an hour, Granny came and woke Emma up, and promptly handed Neal to her.

"What, now I gotta babysit?" Emma asked, holding Neal awkwardly as Granny sat down beside her.

"No, child, this isn't a punishment," Granny said, helping Emma reposition Neal into a more comfortable place on her lap. "You did a satisfactory job on all your chores this morning, and with minimal grumbling, so I'd say your punishment is over."

"So why do I have to hold the baby then?" Emma asked, barely looking at him.

"I don't expect you to bond with your parents overnight," Granny began to explain, "but this baby is your brother. He's your flesh and blood and he's never done anything to hurt or betray you, so I thought he might be a good stepping stone."

Emma turned and looked at Neal. He smiled up at her, and she couldn't help but smile back. "My brother," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. She had had no interest in the child her parents had decided to keep, before this moment. In fact, she had silently resented him from the moment she knew he existed.

"When I was really little," Emma said, turning back to Granny, "I would wait for the day that my parents would show up and claim me. It never occurred to me that it wouldn't happen. When I got older, I started to wonder why they would have ever given me up. I started to think that maybe they were very young, and maybe my dad had left the moment he found out my mom was pregnant. Maybe she was sixteen and her parents kicked her out and she had no job and no place to go and she was scared and alone."

Granny nodded, urging Emma to continue.

"When I got here, and I saw that my dad had never left, and that my parents were actually still together, and married, with a brand new baby, it just… it hurt worse than anything. Why did they keep him and throw me away? I mean, David told me about the curse and all that yesterday but… it still hurts."

"I can understand that, child. But you should know, they weren't together when you actually found them. And Neal didn't come along until later."

Emma nodded. "I'm sure the adult me understands that, but I don't have her memories right now. I just have mine, and I can only react in my way."

"I know, child. Baby steps."

Emma nodded, and turned her attention back to Neal. His eyes looked like hers and when he smiled again, she couldn't help but feel a connection to him.

 _My brother,_  Emma thought to herself,  _my actual family_.

The concept was starting to feel a little less foreign than it did before.

* * *


	13. Chapter 13

Regina fidgeted nervously with her napkin as she sat in the diner with Tink. Tink had seemed a little too relieved for Regina's liking when Snow informed her she would only have one charge that day, and while Regina had enjoyed sitting and reading in the library while Tink helped Belle again, she couldn't help that her mind kept wandering back to the clock tower and all that had occurred the night before – the alcohol, the kissing and the magic. Mostly the kissing.

When lunchtime had rolled around, Tink had brought Regina back to the diner. Since they didn't have Emma's car, they had walked, and Regina couldn't help but notice all the odd looks she received along the way.

"Did you know me before?" Regina asked, startling Tink, since she had been so quiet up until this point.

Tink looked at her across the booth. "I've know you for a very long time, long before Storybrooke."

"When I was the Evil Queen?" Regina asked.

"Who told you about that?"

"David."

Tink rolled her eyes. "Figures. No, I knew you before that."

"Oh," Regina nodded.

"Look, don't worry about any of that, okay? It was a long time ago and you're not that person anymore, and you're certainly not that person right now. Just try to relax, and enjoy being young again, okay?"

"Okay," Regina agreed, just as an unfamiliar man walked up to their booth. This man, however, didn't have the same look on his face as the rest of the town people she had encountered.

"Regina?" he asked, looked at her, astonished.

Regina looked at Tink, nervously.

"Regina, this is Robin," Tink said, smiling. "He's… well, he's your boyfriend."

Regina's heart skipped a beat. She remembered Emma saying she had a boyfriend. And she remembered how that boyfriend had a baby on the way with another woman. This was all too much. She wished Emma was here.

"Hello," Regina said, politely, as Robin slid into the booth next to her. Unconsciously, she moved away a bit.

"David told me about what happened with you and Emma," Robin said, shaking his head in disbelief, "but seeing you in person, Regina, this is so bizarre."

Regina just stared, unsure what to say or do. He was her boyfriend, but she hoped that didn't mean he expected her to kiss him. She didn't even remember him. If Emma were here she'd know what to say or do. She'd step in with some profanity or witty comment and Robin would leave and Regina would be able to breathe again.

But Emma wasn't here, so Regina looked to Tink instead, her eyes wide with apprehension.

"She doesn't remember you," Tink said, and Regina was mildly relieved that the fairy seemed to pick up on her nervousness.

"Ah," Robin nodded, "alright. I'll be on my way, Regina, I don't want to upset you."

"Thank you," Regina said, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. She had been there when Emma ran into her boyfriend, and Emma had known exactly how to handle it. Why had her mother had to shelter her so much? She spent so much time and effort grooming Regina to be a Queen, that she forgot to teach her how to interact with regular people.

"How long will she be like this?" Robin asked Tink. Tink just shrugged, and Robin sighed and walked away.

"Emma said Robin has a child on the way with another woman," Regina said, quietly, once Robin had left the diner.

"How would Emma know that?" Tink sighed, rolling her eyes.

Regina shrugged. "I think Henry told her."

"Well, either Henry doesn't know the whole story, or Emma doesn't. It's true, but it's not what you think, Regina," Tink said.

"Emma said I don't need 'baby mama drama' in my life," Regina continued.

"Can we talk about something other than what Emma thinks?" Tink asked, "like maybe what you think?"

"I don't know what to think," Regina admitted. "You don't like Emma, do you?"

"Adult Emma? Yes. She's a wonderful, kind, caring person. This teenage version? Not so much. She's conniving and manipulative. Thank goodness she grows out of it, at some point, because if this was our savior…" Tink let her voice trail off.

"I don't think she's conniving and manipulative," Regina said, defensively.

Tink smiled. "You're free to think whatever you want to think, that's the beauty of this realm."

Regina nodded, and went back to picking at her lunch. She didn't care for the diner food on a good day, and on a day like today when she missed Emma and just wanted to tell her about meeting Robin and how awkward it was, she really had no appetite.

"You okay?" Tink asked.

"I don't feel so good," Regina said. It wasn't really a lie. She didn't feel well, at all.

"You look pale," Tink commented. "Let's go back to your house."

Regina shook her head. "Can I go back to Snow and David's house? Please?"

Tink sighed, and nodded. She knew that Snow wanted Regina and Emma to spend some time apart, but she figured with Granny there, and Regina clearly not feeling well, Emma wasn't going to be able to get Regina into very much trouble this afternoon anyway.

She used magic to poof them back into the loft, and Emma and Granny both looked up, surprised, at the commotion. Granny stood, as Emma still had Neal on her lap, and walked over.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Regina's not feeling well," Tink said.

Granny nodded, and placed her hand on Regina's forehead. "You don't feel warm," she commented. Regina looked like she was about to cry. "Why don't you head upstairs and lie down? It's probably the alcohol from last night.

Tink shot a glare over at Emma, who rolled her eyes. "She had  _one_  shot. She's not hungover."

"Go, child," Granny said, ushering Regina toward the stairs.

Granny and Tink chatted for a few minutes by the door, while Emma bounced her brother on her knee, impatiently, waiting for Granny to come and take him back.

"Can I go check on her, please?" Emma asked, after Tink had left and Granny returned to her side on the couch. "She's not sick, she's upset. I can tell."

Granny nodded and took Neal back, after Emma gave him one last hug. Emma then headed off towards the stairs, taking them two at a time until she reached the top.

Regina was on the bed, on top of the covers, curled up in a little ball, her back to Emma. Emma sighed as she saw Regina's shoulders shaking, and walked over. "Hey," she whispered, as she climbed onto the bed behind her, and scooted up close to her, wrapping her arms around her. "Wanna tell me what's really going on?"

Regina wiped the tears from her cheeks quickly. "Nothing. I'm fine. The food at the diner just makes me feel sick."

"You know," Emma said, lifting one hand to stroke Regina's soft, dark hair, "I have this kind of superpower, and I can always tell when someone is lying. And right now, you are being a lying liar. What happened?"

Regina took a shaky breath, and rolled so she could face Emma. Emma smiled, and kept running her fingers through Regina's hair. "I met my boyfriend at the diner today."

Emma's smile faded. "And?"

"And… I don't know. He was just like any other person, I suppose. I didn't feel anything towards him, because I don't even know him, but… he's supposed to be my boyfriend. And one day I'm going to be an adult again and I'm going to remember him. But you like me and I like you and…"

"And you're afraid of what's going to happen when we're not sixteen anymore?" Emma guessed. It wasn't hard to guess, since she'd been worrying about the same thing.

"Yes. What if I remember him and I'm in love. And what if you remember your boyfriend and you're in love?"

"Well, what if we both remember and decide we're not in love with them?" Emma countered. "There's no way to know what's going to happen, Regina, and there's no way to know how long we're going to be like this, either. You can't spend your whole life worrying about what's going to happen next. Not everything is going to result in disaster, you know."

"But most things do," Regina pointed out.

"This doesn't have to," Emma replied. "We can make a pact, right now, to live like we're just sixteen, and there's no spell on us, and when we grow back up, we can decide then what we want to do. Maybe we'll want to return to our old lives, or maybe we won't. There's no way to know, so it's not worth worrying about."

Regina nodded, slowly, considering it. "I was worried that he was going to want me to kiss him, but I only wanted to kiss you," Regina said, finally, her cheeks flushing at the admission.

Emma smiled. "Good. Because I only want to kiss you," she agreed, as she leaned forward again. The kiss was long – much longer than any they had shared before – and Emma couldn't help but notice how good Regina was getting at kissing, considering this was only her fourth kiss, ever. She was a natural, and Emma liked that.

She wondered what her parents would think, if they knew they were letting her share a bed with the girl she was kissing. She wondered what they would think if they knew she was kissing a girl at all. For once, she actually didn't want to get caught, because this thing that she and Regina shared was so deeply personal and intimate and she didn't want it to be destroyed.

Not everything good had to be destroyed, right?

She thought about the man she had met on the boat a few days ago. The man who had given rum to a minor. She thought about Regina's boyfriend who was clearly screwing around on her. She was reasonably sure neither of them were going to choose those men over each other. How could they?

She was sure this wouldn't end in disaster. She wouldn't let it.

Granny had said she wasn't doing her adult self any favours, but Emma had to disagree. She was sure that starting a relationship with Regina was the best favour she could do for her adult self at this time.

When they finally broke off the kiss, Emma and Regina just stayed there for a while, looking into each other eyes.

"Eyes don't change, you know," Emma said, finally.

"What?" Regina asked.

"When you grow up, your face changes, your skin changes, your hair might change, but eyes… they always stay the same," Emma explained.

Regina nodded. "So, what you're saying is, once we're back to our normal selves, and everything is different, our eyes will still be the same?"

"Exactly. No matter what age we are, we can lie like this and look into the same eyes. It's kind of comforting to think about, isn't it?"

Regina smiled. "It actually is," she agreed.

"That's how we'll know what to do. When this is all over, if we can look into each other eyes and feel the same way that we feel now, then we know."

"I can't imagine not feeling this way," Regina admitted.

"Me either," Emma agreed, and she leaned forward to kiss Regina again.

They only had about an hour before Snow returned from work and Henry returned from school. Emma wanted to get in as much kissing as possible before then, and Regina didn't seem to have any objection to that.

Emma broke away from Regina's lips and rolled onto her back when she heard the door open downstairs. Regina looked a little flustered as she tried to straighten her hair, and Emma couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't worry," Emma said, rolling her eyes, "none of them are going to suspect that we just spent an hour making out, I promise."

Emma listened as her mother talked to Granny for a few minutes, before calling the girls back down stairs.

"How are you feeling now, Regina?" Snow asked, as the girls reached the bottom of the stairs. Emma rolled her eyes as Snow put her hand on Regina's forehead, which earned her a warning look from Granny.

"Better, now," Regina nodded, smiling. "I just needed a rest."

"I see," Snow said, before turning to Emma. "Granny says you were very well-behaved today."

Emma rolled her eyes again. Her mother seemed to have a knack for talking to her like she was six. Or a dog. "She made me do chores, and I did them," Emma shrugged.

"Good," Snow said, smiling.

"I don't want me and Regina to be separated again tomorrow," Emma said, crossing her arms defiantly over her chest.

"You know that wasn't a punishment, right?"

"Either way, it's not fair to separate us," Emma insisted.

"Fine. Don't sneak out tonight and I won't separate you tomorrow," Snow bargained.

"I thought it wasn't a punishment?" Emma retorted.

"Today, it wasn't. Tomorrow, it might be," Snow replied.

Granny shot Emma another warning look, before heading out for the day. Emma decided against challenging her mother further, at this point. It had been a long time since she'd had something that she didn't want to be taken away from her, and she certainly didn't want to be punished by having to be separated from Regina again tomorrow. It had been far worse on Regina, though Snow didn't know that, and she didn't want that to happen again.

Regina needed her around. She wouldn't sneak out tonight.

She was pretty sure she and Regina could find better ways to pass their time, anyway.


	14. Chapter 14

"Who would like to help with dinner?" Snow asked, looking at Regina.

"I will!" Emma cut in, before Regina had a chance to answer. Regina and Snow both gave her puzzled looks. "You hang out with Henry," Emma smiled at Regina, "you've have a rough day."

Emma avoided looking at her mother's beaming face as she headed toward the kitchen. She had an ulterior motive, and she wasn't quite ready for the lovey-dovey mother stuff that she was sure was coming, despite anything Granny had said or if she kind of liked her little brother. Helping with dinner wasn't about playing family.

"What do I have to do?" Emma asked, looking at the food on the counter in front of her.

Snow smiled and handed her a knife. "Why don't you start chopping some of these vegetables?" she suggested.

"You trust me with a knife?"

Snow narrowed her eyes in confusion. "Is there some reason I shouldn't trust you with a knife?"

Emma shrugged. "No. I just didn't think I was high on your list of trustworthy people."

"Emma," Snow sighed, "despite sneaking out of the house, you're still my daughter and I love you."

Emma cringed at both words: daughter and love. She was nobody's daughter, and nobody loved her, that much she knew was true. How could these people claim to love her, when they didn't even know her?

"If you love me so much then why didn't you keep me?" Emma asked, quietly. She hadn't intended to get into this conversation right now. She had intended to play nice and get into her mother's good graces, so she could ask for what she really wanted.

"Do you really want to have this conversation now?" Snow asked, looking at Emma seriously.

Emma shrugged. "I mean, David said it was because Regina was going to kill me, but I don't believe that. I mean, look at her," Emma nodded in Regina's direction. She was on the couch with Henry, holding a game controller awkwardly in her hand and looking completely overwhelmed as Henry attempted to give her a crash course in how to play.

Snow sighed. "Regina… went through a lot of things in her life. Things that can change a person," Snow attempted to explain. "But, if we're being completely honest here, I don't believe she would have killed you. But you would have been cursed along with the rest of us. Putting you through the wardrobe was the only way to save you."

"You couldn't have like, sent a note with me or something? Stapled it to my baby blanket? 'Hey, Emma, come find us?' or some shi-" Emma stopped herself before the entire word came out. "or some _thing._ "

Snow sighed and shook her head. "I guess I didn't think of that. But, Emma, you have to know, it killed me to give you up. It was never what I wanted."

Emma was about to respond, but she was cut short by a shooting pain in her finger. She looked down. There was blood all over the cutting board. "Oh my God!" she shrieked, "I think I cut right through it!"

"Let me see," Snow said, holding her hand out, trying to sound calm.

"No!" Emma cried, grabbing her finger with her other hand. It wasn't cut through, she could tell that now, but it still hurt like a bitch and was bleeding like crazy.

"Emma, please, let me see it," Snow insisted.

"No!" Emma took a step back, "I'm fine, I'm fine. It's fine. I just need a bandaid. Where are bandaids?" Emma's voice was coming out at least two octaves higher than normal in her state of panic.

"Emma," Snow said again, her voice a little firmer. Not harsh, but firm enough that Emma stopped panicking, for a second. "Let me…" she said, holding her hand out again.

"Let you what? Let you be my mother?" Emma asked, incredulously, remembering her conversation with Granny earlier.

"I was going to say let me look at it," Snow said, smiling.

Reluctantly, Emma held out her hand to her, and Snow turned on the cold water, guiding Emma's finger over to it. As the blood washed away, Emma could see the cut was actually fairly tiny. She wanted to kick herself for overreacting like that.

She let her mother wrap her finger up in a cloth, before leading her into the bathroom, to dab it with alcohol before putting on a bandaid. Emma winced a little at the sting of the alcohol, but somehow, the feeling of her mother's hand on hers was comforting.

_Strange._

She didn't understand it. She didn't know this woman. She didn't  _want_  to know this woman… did she?

"Better?" Snow asked.

"I ruined the carrots," was all Emma managed to say back.

Snow just shook her head

* * *

"Henry, must we really do this?" Regina asked, sighing at the video game on the screen. It was loud and overwhelming and utterly confusing to her.

Henry shrugged. "We don't  _have_  to, I just thought it would be fun."

"It's not fun for me," Regina sighed.

Henry smiled and shut the game off. "Yeah, don't worry, you're not really into them as an adult, either."

Regina looked a little deflated. "I guess Emma's a better mother to you than I am," she sighed. "You and she have much more in common."

"No, trust me, you're an awesome mom," Henry grinned. "The best."

Regina smiled a little. "I feel so lost in this world, still."

"Yeah, I know. But it's alright. You're safe here, with all of us," Henry reminded her.

"Yes, I know, but… Henry, can I ask you, do you know what happened to my parents?" Regina asked, softly. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know, but at the same time, she felt like everything around her was one giant mystery.

Henry gaped at her for a moment, unsure of what to say, but luckily salvation came to him in the form of Emma jumping over the back of the couch, landing ungracefully between himself and Regina.

"Done cooking already?" Henry asked.

Emma held up her bandaged finger. "I had a casualty," she shrugged. "I'm a detriment to the cooking world."

Henry laughed. "Well, I guess that explains why you only eat take-out."

Emma rolled her eyes and turned to look at Regina. "Hey, guess what? I asked my… um, Mary Margaret if I can take you out for ice cream tonight," Emma said, her eyes twinkling, "and she said yes."

"I thought you were grounded," Henry pointed out.

"No, I'm just not allowed to sneak out anymore," Emma replied, "or else I'll be in big trouble."

"What's ice cream?" Regina asked, her interest piqued.

"It's something delicious that my Mary Margaret said doesn't exist in your world, so you're gonna love it," Emma smiled.

"Can I come?" Henry asked, excitedly.

Emma cringed. She had  _meant_  for this to be a date, but she couldn't very well tell the kid this. She had specifically offered to help Snow with dinner to butter her up a little before asking to go out. Truthfully, she was shocked it worked. She hadn't expected it to, and she certainly hadn't planned on Henry asking to tag along.

"Uh…" Emma started, turning back to Henry, who at her expectantly. "Yeah, I guess so. Do you have, like, a friend you can invite? 'Cause Regina and I are probably going to talk about stuff that bores you, like girl things, and you might want someone else to talk to."

Henry laughed. "Yeah, I can invite Grace."

"Ooh, who's Grace? Your girlfriend?" Emma teased. Henry blushed a little, and she realized she might be on to something. And it might work to her advantage. "Okay, you can invite Grace. And we can get separate tables, if, you know, you want some  _alone_  time or something. And trust me, if I were you, I'd take me up on this offer, 'cause who knows if me and Regina would let you get away with that when we're our old selves again?"

Henry nodded. "Alright, I'll call her," he said, jumping up to grab his phone.

Emma turned back to Regina. "It can be like our first date," she grinned.

"What's a date?" Regina asked, her eyes wide.

Emma laughed. "It's like, what two people who like each other do. They go out someplace and spend time together doing something fun. It's not all secret make-out sessions, you know." She whispered the last part low to Regina's ear, even though they were the only people left in the room, and Snow seemed happily oblivious to them as she finished up on dinner.

Amazingly, this dinner was the least awkward they had all had together since Emma and Regina reverted themselves to teens. Emma and Henry excitedly talked about ice cream, while Mary Margaret and David shared stories of their day. David congratulated Emma on helping with dinner, and she actually smiled at the compliment for a moment, before brushing it off like it was nothing.

After dinner, Emma jumped up and grabbed her keys, unable to wait a single moment longer to get out on her date.

"Henry," Snow called to him, still within earshot of the girls, "keep an eye on your mothers, alright?"

Henry laughed. "Oh, man, only in Storybrooke. Don't worry, I'll keep them in line," he promised.

"Yeah, keep us in line," Emma mocked, once they were outside getting in the car. "Now, tell me exactly where I can pick up your secret girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Henry insisted, his face getting red, though he gave Emma the directions anyway, and soon Grace joined him in the backseat, and the two were directing Emma in the direction of the ice cream parlour.

Mary Margaret had given Emma money for their treats, and Emma guessed she was likely overjoyed to have the experience of her daughter asking permission for  _anything,_ and getting to be the cool mom who said yes  _and_  gave their kid money. Henry and Grace ordered first, and then Emma helped Regina pick a flavour, before choosing her own and paying for all four.

"We're gonna sit outside," Henry said, motioning to the only empty table for two out on the small patio out front, clearly indicating his desire to have some alone time with Grace.

Emma grinned. "Sure kid, we'll be in here," she agreed. It was a beautiful evening, and the inside of the shop was deserted, which Emma preferred anyway.

Emma led Regina to a booth near the back, out of view of most of the patio, as Henry and Grace headed out front. Emma giggled as she showed Regina how to eat ice cream from a cone.

"Just lick it, before it melts," Emma said, laughing.

Regina's eyes went wide. "This is so strange," she mumbled, before trying it for herself. She took her first lick, and smiled. "Strange, but delicious."

Emma laughed. "Told you!"

"So this is a date?" Regina asked, as they continued to eat their cones.

"Yeah, well, like anything we go do, just the two of us, that's a date. It's all about getting to know each other better, and stuff," Emma shrugged.

"So, should we ask each other questions?"

"Sure, yeah. What do you want to know?"

"I… don't even know where to begin," Regina said, shaking her head.

"Okay, I'll ask. What are your hobbies? What do you like to do for fun?"

"I like horses," Regina offered, smiling. "I have this beautiful steed, Rocinante. He's my pride and joy."

"I've never been on a horse," Emma admitted.

"I wonder if there are stables here," Regina said, "perhaps we could go riding, as a… date."

"That would be so cool. I've always wanted to try it, just never had the chance. What else do you like?"

"Apples," Regina replied quickly. "I grow them on my tree, the one you saw. I think maybe we should go back and check on it tomorrow. I'm concerned about the missing branch." Regina frowned, thinking about the state of her poor tree, when Tink had shown it to her.

"Maybe we can pick some apples? And bake? I mean, if you know how to bake…." Emma suggested.

"I know how to bake in my world. I don't know about this world," Regina admitted.

Emma thought for a moment. "Maybe… we could pick the apples, and ask Mary Margaret to help us bake something?"

Regina smiled. "I think she would like that," she agreed.

Emma turned and glanced out the window at Henry and Grace, who seemed enthralled in their own conversation. She turned back to Regina and smiled, before leaning across the table and giving her a quick kiss.

"What was that for?" Regina asked, her eyes wide, as she looked around, making sure no one had been watching.

"Just 'cause I like you," Emma shrugged. "And it's cool, we're allowed to kiss in public. We're not courting or anything, you know. PDAs are cool in my world."

"PDA?"

"Public displays of affection," Emma explained, "so I can publically display my affection for you." Emma giggled as she leaned forward to plant another kiss on Regina, this one a little longer than the first. It was ended abruptly, however, from a voice behind them.

"Mom!"

Emma's head snapped around quickly, and she and Regina faced a shocked looking Henry and a nervously smiling Grace.

"What are you two doing?" Henry demanded.

Emma glanced at Regina, watching all colour drain from her face, before turning back to Henry. "Henry, please, be cool, okay?"

Henry shook his head. "What… uh, what…."

"Henry, focus," Emma said, almost laughing at the kid's reaction. "It's fine. Regina and I… we just like each other, okay?"

"Yeah, but… what about when you're adults again? You both have boyfriends, you know," Henry reminded her.

"Yeah, I know, but… we don't remember them now, and we've both met our boyfriends, and neither of us feel anything for them right now. We just kind of decided to live as teenagers for the moment, and then, you know, if we don't feel the same when we're back to normal, then we can just cut our losses and walk away," Emma explained.

"What if you do feel the same when you're back to normal?" Henry asked.

Emma shrugged. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there, I guess. Would you be cool with your moms hooking up?"

Henry flushed noticeably at the question. "Ugh… yeah, as long as you never refer to it as hooking up, like ever again. I mean, I'm cool with it, but I don't want to  _know_  about it… as far as… ugh, hooking up goes. I'm still your kid, remember."

"Yeah, okay," Emma laughed. "And hey, kid, please don't tell David and Mary Margaret, okay?"

Henry smiled, finally starting to relax. "Yeah, that one's all on you," he agreed.

"Alright. I guess we should be heading home," Emma sighed. "I promised Mary Margaret that we wouldn't be out too late, and I don't want to get in trouble."

"Since when?" Henry laughed.

"Since the punishment became not being allowed to see Regina all day," Emma replied, as she stood up and reached her hand out for the still-mortified looking brunette. "Hey, Regina, everything's fine. You can breathe again."

Regina took Emma's hand and followed her back outside to the car.

"Hey, Henry, Grace is cool, right? She's not gonna tell anyone?" Emma asked, once they had dropped Grace off.

"No…." Henry said, a little sheepishly.

"What?" Emma demanded, knowing instantly something was up.

"Uh… Grace didn't exactly tell her dad who she was with tonight," Henry confessed.

"Henry!"

"Hey, you want me to keep your secret, you gotta keep ours," Henry bargained. "Her dad's like, super protective over her."

"Fine, deal," Emma agreed.

* * *

"How was ice cream?" Mary Margaret asked, the moment the three stepped back into the loft.

"Great!" Henry said, flopping down on the couch, almost immediately.

"I enjoyed it," Regina smiled. "Much better than cereal."

"Yeah, it was fun," Emma nodded. "Thanks for letting us go."

Mary Margaret beamed, causing Emma to shift uncomfortably.

"It's, uh, getting late, though," Emma said, "and I'm tired. I think I'm gonna turn in."

"Oh, alright," Mary Margaret said, quite clearly surprised, considering it was still relatively early.

Emma ducked out of her line of vision and ran up the stairs. Moments later, Regina was in her room, as well, lying down on the bed next to Emma.

"That was fun tonight," Regina said, rolling onto her side to face Emma.

"Yeah, it was," Emma agreed. "We definitely need to get more dates in before we return to normal."

"Yeah. And hopefully even more dates once we do return to normal," Emma grinned.

Regina smiled. "Yes, I think I'd like that."

 


	15. Chapter 15

Once the girls were changed into their pajamas and cozied under the covers, they began to plan their next date.

"I'm thinking, maybe we could pack a picnic and go to the park," Emma suggested, grinning at the thought of sitting on a blanket under a tree.  _A tree. "_ No, not at the park! A picnic under your apple tree!"

Regina smiled. "I like that idea. And then perhaps we could go riding after that, if Storybrooke does have stables?"

Emma nodded. "Yeah, as long as you're gonna teach me!"

"Do you think your parents will allow us to be out that long unsupervised?" Regina asked, suddenly.

"Maybe we'll talk Henry into chaperoning? They seem to trust him. Well, they trust you, too. It's just me who has made a bad impression."

"I think your mother liked that you cooked with her tonight."

"Yeah. Too bad I suck at it," Emma laughed. "But yeah, I think she did. You know, Granny thinks I'm gonna regret it if I don't, like, reach out to them or something while I'm a teenager. Like, let them be my parents, she said."

"Is that what you're going to do?"

Emma shrugged. "We'll see."

She leaned forward to give Regina a long kiss good night, before finally turning off the light. Somewhere in the middle of the night she woke up, and for a split second she considered waking Regina up and heading back up to that clock tower, but, instead, she just kissed the sleeping brunette on the temple, and closed her eyes again.

Getting caught sneaking out had always been a thrill for her. Getting caught doing  _anything_ , really, because parents couldn't ignore her when she was getting into trouble. A teacher once had told her that she seemed to prefer negative attention, but as far as Emma could tell, negative attention beat getting not attention at all.

But the risk was too high now. The aftermath wouldn't be grounding or extra chores. The punishment would be Regina got to go off with Tink, while she stayed at the apartment with Granny. It really was a punishment for both of them, Emma figured, since she knew Regina hated being separated from her just as much as she hating being separated from Regina, and that wasn't fair. It wasn't far to drag Regina out to do something she didn't even want to do, when the result could very well be Regina getting punished right along with her.

Emma couldn't remember the last time she had actually considered someone else's feelings when making her decisions. She felt a glimmer of the girl she used to be returning to her now. She had planned on corrupting Regina, but it seemed now that Regina was helping restore some of her sweetness to her.

 _Strange_ , Emma thought, as she drifted back to sleep.

* * *

Regina groaned softly as she woke up in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room. She blinked a few times, allowing her surroundings to come into focus, and realized she had been here before. This was the upstairs of the Charmings' loft. This was Emma's bedroom.

_What the hell?_

She sat up and looked down at what she was wearing: soft blue and grey plaid flannel pajama pants and a grey jersey knit sleep shirt. And she started to remember. The memories of the spell she and Emma had attempted to enact in her vault – it was  _meant_ to be a protection spell to strengthen the border around Storybrooke, but Emma had skipped a section and Regina hadn't noticed and the next thing she knew, they were both sixteen again, with no memories.

But now she remembered. She also remembered being sixteen, and sneaking out and drinking and kissing and…  _oh, shit._

She pulled back the covers from her legs and got up quickly to look in the mirror. Sure enough, she was definitely back to her old self. She looked into her own wary eyes as she thought about all the fall-out and aftermath she and Emma were going to have to deal with now.

 _Emma_.

Regina turned back to the bed, where Emma slept in a ball under the covers still, her long blonde hair a mess over the pillows. Inwardly, Regina cringed for a moment, thinking about how they had been sleeping in the same bed this whole time. How had Snow and David allowed that? She supposed they didn't think it was an issue, since they didn't know what else the two had gotten up to during that time.

Regina stepped over to the bed and shook Emma's shoulders. "Emma," she said, as she shook Emma a little harder. Emma grunted and rolled over, and when Regina saw her face she gasped. Emma's eyes fluttered open, and then immediately narrowed suspiciously on Regina.

"You're still sixteen," Regina marvelled, shaking her head.

Emma sat up quickly. "Regina? Why are you old?"

"I'm not," Regina said, defensively. "I'm back to normal. You're still young, however."

"Why?" Emma asked, panic setting in. She didn't want to be stuck at sixteen if Regina was back to normal. What if this Regina didn't want her anymore? What if she went running back to her boyfriend? She didn't want this thirty-something Regina imposter. She wanted her Regina.

Regina shook her head again, as she sat down on the bed next to Emma. Instinctively, Emma scooted a few inches away, but Regina pretended not to notice. "Your magic is stronger than mine," she started, hazarding a guess, "but I've used magic longer and had more magic used on me. I guess I have a higher tolerance than you do? It wore off for me, it will wear off for you, too."

Emma couldn't help the look of disappointment that was washing over her face. "What about the meantime?" she asked, softy. "I don't wanna be alone."

"You're not alone," Regina assured her. "I'm right here."

"But you're not you. You're not my Regina."

Regina smiled, and placed her hand tentatively on Emma's. Emma didn't pull it away, though she continued to regard Regina with distrust. "I can assure you," Regina said, "I am that girl, deep down. That girl wasn't me, not yet, but she's still here." Regina pointed to her heart, for emphasis.

"It's still not the same."

"I know. But I'm sure it won't be for much longer." Regina sighed, and then started to chuckle.

"What?" Emma asked, her eyes gaining a look of pure confusion.

"You, my dear, managed to corrupt my sixteen-year-old self, in your way. I was a princess, you know. I can't believe the things I let you talk me in to…. Sneaking out, drinking…  _kissing_."

"You liked it," Emma said, grinning. "It didn't take all that much convincing, your highness."

"Your Majesty," Regina corrected. To her dismay, the smile fell off of Emma's face as quickly as it had appeared.

"So it's true, then? The Evil Queen and all that?"

Regina closed her eyes and sighed heavily, before nodding. She opened her eyes and looked at Emma again. "Yes, it is, but I haven't been that person for a long time. She's gone, thanks to Henry. And thanks, in part, to you, too, I suppose, though that was something I was never able to admit before. And for the record, I never would have killed you as a baby. Everyone thought I would, and truthfully, maybe I had thought so too, at one point, but… I wouldn't have. I know myself, and even at my absolute worst, I couldn't have done it."

"I know you, too, and I don't think you could have, either," Emma agreed, solemnly.

"That's sweet, dear, but you – this you, I mean – you only know my younger, uncorrupted self," Regina reminded her. "However… I know you don't remember this, but you once told me that we understand each other, and that understanding makes us special. I hope you don't tease me for this when you are back to your old self, but I think this time together, as sixteen-year-olds, pushed that understanding to a much deeper level. We are special."

Emma smiled again. Though she didn't remember specifically what Regina was referring to, she could only assume that she meant they had a connection and that connection had deepened. Maybe she still wanted her after all. Emma didn't hesitate. Without warning, she leaned in to kiss this all-grown-up version of Regina.

For her part, Regina recognized what Emma was about to do, and she put her free hand up to stop her before she could even start. "No, Emma. It's not appropriate anymore," she said, softly.

The hurt and defeat on Emma's face was painfully obvious as she turned away, and pulled her hand free from Regina's. She drew her knees up to her chest, and went to bury her head in her arms from embarrassment, but Regina stopped her with a gentle hand under her chin, coaxing Emma to look at her, again. "You do understand why it's inappropriate?"

"I thought you liked me," Emma said, sounding far younger than sixteen in that moment.

"Emma, it's not a matter of whether I like you. I'm not sixteen anymore. I'm an adult and you're a child, and that makes it inappropriate," Regina explained.

"I'm not a child," Emma said, defensively.

"To me, you are. And I'm not going to take advantage of you."

"Why not? Everyone else does," Emma pouted.

"I won't," Regina reiterated. As Emma blinked up at her with eyes watery from unshed tears, Regina was reminded of something Emma had said at the diner that first night. "You told Lily you had to earn your room and board on your back. You didn't make that up, did you?"

Emma shook her head, looking down. "No. I lied when you asked me about it because you were so scared already and I didn't want to make it worse."

"You were sweeter to me than most people ever have been in my life," Regina said, wrapping her arms around Emma and pulling her close. Emma closed her eyes and let her head fall onto Regina's chest. "As an adult, you always try to protect me, and now that I know you at sixteen, I'm well-aware that it's your innate instinct. No one's ever protected you, though, and I'm sorry for that."

In spite of herself, Emma let her tears begin to fall as Regina lightly stroked her hair. She missed  _her_  Regina, the one who was sweet and innocent and needed her, but this Regina made her feel safe, which was something she had been craving for so long in her life.

"So what now? What happens between us now?" Emma asked, trying to swallow back her sobs. "Are you going to go back to your boyfriend?"

Regina was silent for a few moments. "I'm… not sure. This is a conversation that needs to wait until you're back to yourself as well, and you know what you want."

"I know what I want!" Emma insisted.

"You know what you want right now," Regina corrected. "This conversations  _needs_  to wait."

Emma nodded against Regina's chest. "Do you think, now that you're an adult, that I can just stay with you today?" Emma asked, quietly, as she played absently with the neckline of Regina's shirt with one hand, once the tears had finally stopped. "I'm not exactly Tink's favourite person, you know. She only tolerates me because of you."

Regina laughed. "Well, I'd like to say that a sixteen-year-old doesn't need constant supervision, but you, my dear, absolutely do. And, you do need to accompany me back to my house, because if I remember correctly, you have a window to repair. And Tinker Bell has a stolen credit card to atone for."

Emma grinned. "You did tell her it was okay."

"Yes, well, I clearly had no idea what I was agreeing to," Regina pointed out, as she gave Emma one more squeeze, before releasing her. "Now, let's head downstairs, shall we? I want to see Henry, and we can inform your parents that Tinker Bell's babysitting services will no longer be required."

Emma laughed as she wiped the tears away from her cheeks. Regina noticed her red eyes, and waved a hand over her face, removing any evidence that she had even been crying. "There, now no one will know."

"Thanks," Emma said, blushing a little at the embarrassment that she had cried at all. She climbed out of bed and headed down the stairs first, where she found her parents sitting at the table, drinking coffee, while Henry sat on the couch, playing a video game.

No one seemed to notice Regina until she stepped in front of the TV and shut off the game. Henry was about to protest, until he looked up and saw the familiar smirk and raised eyebrow of his mother. "Mom!" he exclaimed, throwing the controller down as he jumped up and ran to hug her.

Emma felt a tiny pang of jealousy, since Henry had quite clearly favoured her over the teenage version of Regina. She wondered how the dynamic of them both being his mothers worked. Would he be this overjoyed when she grew back up, too?

Snow stood, looking confused, as she looked back and forth between Emma and Regina. "What happened? How are you back, and Emma's not?"

Regina didn't let go of her son as she looked at Snow and shook her head. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "But I'm sure it won't be long, in any event."

Emma looked back and forth between her parents, and Regina and Henry, and suddenly felt more alone than she had in a very long time, wondering exactly where she was supposed to fit in now. She hoped Regina was right, and it wouldn't be long before she was back to normal, too.

"I guess we can call Tink and let her know she doesn't need to watch you two," Snow said, shaking her head slightly, "Emma, you can just stay here with Granny for the day I suppose."

"She can stay with me," Regina cut in. "Emma and I already discussed it."

"Oh, okay," Snow nodded, "if you don't mind."

"Of course I don't mind," Regina smiled. "It would be my pleasure."

* * *

After breakfast, Regina poofed herself into her own clothes and she and Emma headed outside as David went to work and Snow and Henry headed off to school. Regina waved her hand and poofed her Mercedes to the curb in front of them.

"Okay,  _that_  was cool," Emma laughed.

"Magic isn't all light shows and setting off sprinkler systems, you know," Regina smirked as she headed towards the car. "Thanks, by the way, for sticking up for me in the library that day. This town is pretty quick to blame me for anything."

"Yeah, well, like I said, they all suck," Emma shrugged as she got into the car.

"Yes, well, too bad your adult self doesn't see it that way, or we would have so much more in common."

"Ugh, please don't tell me I grew up totally lame," Emma cried.

"No, you're just a toned-down version of your current self," Regina admitted, "perhaps slightly more tolerant of others."

"Okay," Emma nodded. "Um… so, hey, is it true that your boyfriend knocked some other chick up?"

Regina smirked but didn't take her eyes of the road. "I forgot to mention that your adult self is equally as tactless as you are now. And yes, it's true, but it's a lot more complicated than you think."

"A lot more complicated than what? He's having a baby with another woman, where's the complication?"

"The other woman is my sister," Regina admitted.

"Okay, no offense, but that's just fucked up. Like, really."

"Yes, well, we're not discussing this right now, remember?" Regina reminded her, wanting to get as far away from that subject as she possibly could.

"Well, then what should we talk about?"

"Hmm, how about what we should pack for our picnic?" Regina suggested.

"What picnic?"

"The one we planned last night. Under my apple tree. You don't remember?"

"Yeah, I remember, I just… assumed it wasn't on anymore."

"I don't see any reason why not. And Storybrooke does have stables, we could go riding after."

"And bake something with apples?" Emma asked, looking at Regina hopefully.

"If that's what you want," Regina agreed.

"Yeah, I think that would be fun. I assume you know how to work an oven now, so we won't even need to ask for help," Emma grinned. "And, speaking of apples, uh, what actually happened to your tree? The branch? It really bothered you before."

"It still does, actually," Regina admitted, "but I'm learning to accept it. You cut it off with a chainsaw."

"What!" Emma gasped. "Why?"

Regina shrugged. "I had you arrested for something you didn't do."

"Holy crap," Emma muttered, "no wonder Henry freaked when he saw us kissing. It sounds like we hate each other."

"We don't," Regina insisted. "We just… got off to a rough start."

"Well, the first time, anyway."

"What?"

"The first time, we got off to a rough start, but when you think about it, we've met each other twice now, and I think we got off to a pretty good start the second time, don't you? Actually, I guess I've met you three times now, if you count this morning."

"Good point," Regina agreed, as she pulled into the driveway of the mansion. "Now, let's get inside so you can fix my window, and then we'll pack our picnic."

Emma grinned. She missed her Regina, but she was starting to think this one wasn't all that bad, either.

* * *


	16. Chapter 16

**Warning for an OQ kiss (though I promise this is still a Swan Queen story! Don't worry!)**

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen**

"Emma, focus!"

Emma drew in a deep breath and put her hands up in front of Regina's smashed window for what felt like the hundredth time. She could feel the magic surging in her fingertips, but it wasn't working.

"I don't want to do this anymore," she pouted, turning away from the window and crossing her arms in front of her chest like a petulant child.

"Seriously? What are you, sixteen or six?" Regina asked, unable to shield her annoyance.

"I  _can't_  do it!" Emma insisted. "What's the point?"

"Yes, you can," Regina said, putting her hands on Emma's shoulders. "You just need to focus."

"I miss when you were sixteen and you weren't so bossy."

"Yes, well, I'd like to say I miss when you were an adult and you didn't break my windows, but, unfortunately, you did it then, too, and you'll probably do it again. Consider this a necessary life skill," Regina said, spinning Emma around to face the window again. "You can do this, Emma."

Emma breathed a heavy sigh, knowing  _this_ Regina wasn't going to back down until she got what she wanted. She really did miss  _her_  sweet Regina. She held up her hands once more, pulling the magic forward as Regina had explained to her, and this time, something happened.

"See, I knew you could do it," Regina said, when the window was back in place.

Emma turned around and grinned, proud of her accomplishment. "Can we pack our picnic now?" she asked, excitedly. "For our  _date_?"

"It's not a  _date_ ," Regina sighed, as she led Emma into the kitchen.

"It is in my mind," Emma shrugged, and Regina decided not to argue as they set about making sandwiches.

"Why is it you are so willing to help me in the kitchen, and yet it's like pulling teeth when your mother asks you for help?" Regina asked.

Emma looked down at the counter. "It's just… different."

"Okay," Regina nodded, deciding not to press the issue right now.

But Emma didn't look up from the counter. "Regina, um… do you think I'll regret not reaching out to them? Granny says I will when I'm back to normal."

Regina sighed and put her hand on Emma's shoulder. "I think you have every right to be hurt and upset and reluctant, given what your life has been, up to this point. However, as much as it pains me to admit it, it wasn't all your parents' fault. The curse was real, that really happened, and I'm sure they were terrified. Then again, you were meant to be the savior, and they put you through that wardrobe to save themselves just as much, if not more so, as they did to save you. It's a lot to digest, at any age, and I don't envy the position you're in right now."

"So what should I do?" Emma asked, looking up at Regina, her eyes wide with expectancy.

"You need to follow your own advice, and do what your sixteen-year-old self wants. You've made peace with your parents as an adult. It's up to you if you want to do it again, as a teenager."

"Okay," Emma nodded. "Yeah, okay."

Regina didn't ask what Emma's decision was on the matter, assuming she'd tell her if she wanted. "Well, looks like the picnic is ready to go. I have to get some work done at my office before lunch, but you can come with me. I don't even want to know how behind I am now."

"Ugh, your office is  _so boring!"_ Emma whined.

"Here, take this," Regina offered, reaching into a cupboard above the counter and pulling out a GameBoy. "I grounded Henry from it a while ago. I know it's probably more advanced technology than you're used to, but I'm sure you'll figure it out."

"Fine," Emma sighed, in a mock whine, though secretly she was excited about the GameBoy. "Henry's not gonna mind?"

Regina shrugged. "Well, I bought it. And since when are you suddenly so concerned about other people's property?"

Emma blushed and didn't reply as she grabbed the GameBoy and the picnic basket and followed Regina out to her car.

When they got to the office, Emma flung herself down onto the couch with the GameBoy as Regina got to work on the mountain of papers piled on her desk. After about half an hour, there was a knock on the door. Emma looked up at Regina, expectantly, and Regina nodded for her to go answer it.

Emma hopped up and walked over, laughing as she opened the door.

"Oh, Tink," she grinned, "you're in so much trouble!"

Tink smiled and rolled her eyes as she walked past Emma and up to Regina's desk. Emma couldn't help practically skipping up behind her, ready to watch Regina lay into her about the credit card.

"Welcome back, Madam Mayor," Tink said, grinning at Regina.

"Yes, thank you, it's good to be back. Now, I believe you have something of mine?" Regina said, holding out her hand. Tink sheepishly pulled the credit card out of her pocket and placed it in Regina's palm.

"Now, before you say anything," Tink started, her eyes still twinkling impishly, "I actually did you a favour."

"Oh?" Regina asked, quirking an eyebrow in surprise.

"Well, as your friend, I thought it would be terribly wrong of me to let you walk around Storybrooke in the skinny jeans and leather jackets you could have borrowed from Emma. I mean, I suppose you  _could_ have borrowed clothes from Snow…."

"I had my own clothes, if you recall," Regina pointed out.

"I was not about to let a sixteen-year-old walk around town looking like she's running for congress," Tink smirked. Emma laughed, remembering how Regina looked on that first night, all wide eyed and innocent in her obviously expensive power suit.

"I suppose, given our history, I can let a little credit card theft slide," Regina smirked back, before placing the card back in her wallet. "Thanks, by the way, Tink, for everything."

"I'm glad your back," Tink smiled, before turning to Emma. "And I hope you're back soon, too."

Emma looked positively offended as Tink walked back out of the office. As soon as the door shut, she spun back around to face Regina. "See. She hates me. I told you."

"Emma, don't worry about it. You're barely even friends with her," Regina shrugged, as she turned back to her paperwork.

"Everyone thought you were gonna kill her," Emma pointed out.

"Everyone thinks a lot of things about me, unfortunately."

Emma sighed and headed back over to the couch, flopping down again with the GameBoy, until Regina finally got up and told her it was time for lunch.

"Finally! I'm starving!" Emma exclaimed, dramatically, as she jumped up from the couch. "Please tell me we can leave here after lunch!"

"Yes, dear, we can," Regina agreed. She knew she still had a ridiculous amount of paperwork to get to, but she decided it wasn't really fair to make Emma sit there all day with her, and she couldn't exactly let her out of her sight, knowing the teens propensity for getting herself into trouble. The paperwork could wait.

Regina laid out a blanket under her apple tree as Emma stood, holding the basket, staring at the cut off branch.

"Sorry about that," she said, when Regina saw where she was looking.

"No, you're not," Regina chuckled. "It's fine, though. I really did have it coming to me. Come, sit down, let's eat."

Emma grinned as she sat down cross-legged on the blanket, and opened the basket, pulling the food out.

"So," Emma said, thoughtfully, through a bite of her sandwich, "I had a kid in jail. I attacked your tree. You said I broke a window as an adult… why is everyone so surprised at how I am right now? It's like they were expecting me to be all like sweet and stuff?"

Regina smirked, shaking her head. "I think the whole savior-thing is your saving grace. That, and all those things happened a long time ago. You stole that yellow Bug of yours, too."

"Grand theft auto," Emma laughed, "even I didn't see that one coming."

Emma was about to say something else, when she noticed the sudden change on Regina's face. She turned her head to see what Regina was looking at behind her, and saw an unfamiliar man.

"Robin," Regina said, her eyes wide. It only took a split second for the name to register as the name of Regina's boyfriend, as Henry had told Emma. Even if he hadn't, she would have figured it out quick, as Robin immediately dropped to his knees onto the blanket and laid a kiss on Regina.

Emma felt her heart stop. The kiss probably only lasted a second or two, but to Emma, it felt like an eternity. It was enough time for her to realize what was happening and that Regina was lost to her now and panic and stand up and take off running.

"Emma!" Regina cried, pushing Robin away from her, and standing to chase after the girl. Emma ran until she tripped over a protruding tree root and fell forward onto the grass on her hands and knees. Her shoulders were slumped and shaking and Regina thought the girl might be hyperventilating.

And she was right.

"Emma! Emma," said, as she dropped to her knees beside her, and pulled her tight into her arms. Emma was shaking and sobbing, though no actual tears were coming out, just the sound. "Shh, shh, baby, it's okay. It's alright. I'm right here."

"You're not here!" Emma cried, trying to pull herself out of Regina's arms, but Regina held on right. "I want  _my_ Regina back! You're going to pick him and leave me all alone!"

"Emma, I'm so sorry," Regina breathed into her hair, rocking her as the tears started to fall in earnest. "I didn't know he would show up, and I didn't know he would do that. I promise you I will not make a choice until we get to talk it out, as adults, okay? I'm so sorry, Emma."

Emma let herself relax into Regina's arms, as the tears continued to fall. "It's not fair."

"I know," Regina nodded, still rocking her.

"I feel like I just lost my best friend. And you're here but it's not the same and it's not fair."

"I know, sweetie," Regina said, running her hand through Emma's hair. "It won't be like this for long, though. Soon everything will be back to normal, I promise."

Emma finally pulled herself away from Regina, and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "So, I guess that kind wrecks our plans for the rest of the day," she said, looking over Regina's shoulder to Robin, who was still standing back under the apple tree, watching them.

"No, it doesn't. I promised you I would spend the day with you and I still have every intention of doing that. Robin can wait," Regina said, as she stood up and held out her hand to Emma, to help her up. "Now, are you alright? Did you hurt anything in your fall?"

Emma rolled her eyes. "No, I'm fine. I'm tough."

"That you are," Regina agreed, as they headed back over to the tree.

"Regina," Robin started, but that's all he could get out before she cut him off.

"You need to go," she said, firmly, as she put an arm around Emma's shoulder, pre-emptively, in case the girl decided to bolt again. "We will talk later, but right now, I promised Emma my time and I don't' intend to break that promise."

"Regina, come on, I haven't seen you in days," Robin protested.

"We survived months when you were in New York," Regina reminded him, "you'll be fine."

Robin let out a sigh of annoyance, before turning and walking away.

"What is it with men?" Emma asked, once Robin was out of earshot. "Like, what, he's not gonna survive another  _second_  if he doesn't get to bang you?"

"Emma!" Regina gasped.

"What? I mean, come on, look at how he was acting. He didn't miss you, he just wants to fuck you."

"Emma, that's enough," Regina said, more firmly. "You don't know him. Now, come on, do you want to bake with me this afternoon or not?"

"Yes," Emma sighed. What she really wanted to do was punch Robin, but she was sure Regina wasn't going to go for it. She supposed baking an apple pie might be the next best thing.

* * *

"Maybe we could bring a pie to dinner tonight at my parents'," Emma suggested, once they were in the kitchen baking. More accurately, Regina was baking and Emma was watching.

Regina smirked. "Your mother's not all that fond of apples."

"Really? Why?"

"Seriously?" Regina asked, staring at Emma in disbelief. "You're actually asking me why Snow White wouldn't want to accept something made from apples from the Evil Queen?"

"Wait, so that was real? Like, you really poisoned her with an apple?"

"Yes, dear. But that was a long time ago. We're much more civil now, as you may have noticed."

"Yeah, so, okay… no pie. But you're still gonna come to dinner tonight though, right?" Emma asked.

"Are you really this afraid to have dinner with your family?" Regina asked, sitting down at one of the stools at the kitchen island, and motioning for Emma to do the same.

"It's not really about the dinner. It's about the family. Families and me don't always, you know, mesh," Emma tried to explain.

"I know," Regina nodded. "And if you want me there for moral support, I will be there. Lord knows I've relied on you for enough moral support the last few days. It's the least I can do."

"Thanks," Emma smiled. "And hey, then you get to see Henry again, right?"

"Henry… actually lives here," Regina said, tentatively.

"Oh, yeah, right, that would make sense," Emma nodded.

"Emma, if you want him to stay the night at the loft again tonight, I'm sure he would be thrilled. He loves it there."

"I want  _you_  to stay the night at the loft," Emma said, quietly.

"And sleep in your bed?  _That_  would be highly inappropriate, dear, and I think you know that," Regina said, placing her hand over Emma's in hopes that the girl would understand that she was saying this for Emma's benefit, and not to reject her in some way.

"Yeah, I know, but… what's one more inappropriate thing in my life? I mean, at least I  _want_  you in my bed."

"What do you mean by that?" Regina asked, wondering if this had to do with the same previous foster home her other comment had been about.

"Nothing," Emma sighed.

Regina reached forward to cup Emma's face in her hands. "Emma, listen to me," she said, softly, "I want you to know that you can tell me anything, okay? I'm serious."

"Yeah, okay, whatever," Emma said, adverting her eyes.

"Emma, can you look at me for a second?" Regina asked, still holding Emma's face in her hands.

"What?" Emma whined, turning her gaze up to meet Regina's again.

"Are my eyes the same?"

The question caught Emma off-guard, and she stared for a moment, before smiling. "Yeah."

"I told you I'm still that girl, inside. You didn't lose your best friend, Emma. I'm still right here, and I promise you, everything is going to be fine."

"Thank you," Emma breathed as she leaned forward to hug Regina again.

This time, there were no tears.

 


	17. Chapter 17

"How was your day?" Snow asked, once Regina and Emma returned to the loft. Emma had still insisted on bringing a pie with her. She swore she could eat half of it herself – at least – so it didn't matter if no one else wanted any.

"Um, it was good," Emma said, as she set the pie down on the counter. "We didn't go riding, but we had a picnic and we baked a pie, after Regina made me sit in her boring office all morning."

"Emma has no concept that adults have to work for a living," Regina teased. She noted that Emma didn't bring up the situation with Robin, and she could tell it was still bothering her. She wished Emma would return to herself sooner rather than later, so they could figure out what the hell they were going to do.

"I got to use your GameBoy," Emma said to Henry as he walked up, jabbing him playfully in the ribs.

"What? Mom!" Henry whined, shooting Regina a hurt look as he jabbed Emma back. Regina couldn't help but notice they acted more like siblings than mother and son, but she supposed that wasn't all that strange, since that was the type of relationship they had when Emma was her normal self, as well.

"Emma also has no concept of when to keep her mouth shut, apparently," Regina sighed, shaking her head.

"You helped bake?" Snow asked, admiring the pie that Emma had set on the counter. "There's still some work left to do on dinner if you'd like to help me," she offered.

Emma bit her lip and headed to the other side of the counter to help her mother.

"Regina, will you be joining us?" Snow asked, as she handed Emma a knife and some veggies to start cutting.

"Emma invited me, if that's alright," Regina smiled. Snow nodded, and Regina motioned for Henry to follow her into the other room, where she could spend some time with him, while Emma spent some time with her mother.

"You're trusting me with a knife again?" Emma asked, the memory of the nearly-chopping-off-her-finger incident still fresh in her mind.

"Yes, just pay more attention this time, and you'll be fine," Snow insisted. "What else did you do today?"

Emma shrugged. "Not much. We saw Tink. Regina didn't kill her, like everyone thought she would."

Snow let out a little laugh. "Well, they are friends."

"She said she never would have killed me, either, when I was a baby."

Snow's smile faded to a more serious look. "She's right, I don't believe she would have."

"Yeah, but, Dad said she was going to, and that's why you guys sent me away." Emma turned her eyes up to her mother, who now had a big grin spreading across her face. "Why are you smiling?"

"You just called your father 'dad'," Snow pointed out.

"No, I didn't!" Emma insisted. "I said David."

Snow shook her head and let out another small laugh. "Okay. But as for why we sent you away… Emma, thinking Regina would kill you was part of it. And knowing that you were the Savior and we had to get you to safety was another big part of it. But you should know, we never planned for you to go alone."

"What do you mean," Emma asked, as she stopped what she was doing.

"You were born too early. We believed the wardrobe could only take one, and I was going to go through, and give birth to you here, but you came too early and the wardrobe wasn't finished. Once you were born, our only chance was to put you through it."

"You believed it could only take one?" Emma asked, confused as to what Snow meant.

"Well, that's what we were told. As it turned out, it could take two, and Jepetto sent his son Pinocchio though. But you might know him best as August. We didn't know that until much later."

"The boy who found me," Emma nodded. "But still, you sent a helpless infant into a whole other realm? Didn't you think I might have died?"

Snow sighed. "Emma, we come from a land of fairy tales. Your father and I, we were heroes, and you were a hero, and where we're from, the heroes always win. I never doubted for a second that you would survive, and find us, and save us. And you did."

Emma nodded, slowly, trying to digest this information. "I might not be able to forgive you," she said, finally. "I mean, I know I have as an adult, and you might just have to accept that's the best you'll get, because all this stuff you're telling me, it just seems so unreal. My life, until now, that's real to me."

Snow nodded. "I know, honey, and I'm sorry. I would give anything to change what happened, but I can't. And I understand."

"I might not be able to forgive you, but I also don't want to regret not reaching out to you, either. Granny says I'm not doing myself any favours so… maybe we can just have some family time, tonight?"

Emma looked at Snow, who looked like she was about to cry as she wrapped her arms tightly around her daughter. At once, Emma tensed up, but soon let her guard down as she let her mother hold on to her. In spite of everything, and in spite of all the hard feelings she'd harboured against her parents all these years, deep down she remembered the little girl who cried herself to sleep, wanting her mother so badly. She was doing this for her.

* * *

Dinner that night was mostly idle chit-chat, and with Emma actually smiling and participating, it was the best dinner they'd had yet.

When they were done, Regina offered to help Snow with dishes, as Emma joined her father in the living room with the boys, and took to playing with Neal on the floor while Henry booted up his video game.

Regina shook her head at Henry as she followed Snow into the kitchen. "You spoil him," she said, " no wonder he likes it here so much."

"I hardly spoil him," Snow said, as she started up the water in the sink and handed Regina a towel so she could dry. "And if I do, it's only because I didn't get the chance to spoil my daughter. That, and it's what grandparents are supposed to do, or so I've heard."

Regina smirked. "You know, I don't think I will ever truly get used to my former step-daughter being my son's grandmother," she commented, as she took the first dish from Snow to dry.

Snow laughed. "Who would have ever thought we'd get from where we were, to where we are now?"

"Snow," Regina said, turning to her with a serious look on her face. "I want to say thank you, for everything you did, when I was under that spell. You were far kinder to me than I deserved. To say you were far kinder to me than I was to you at that age, would be the understatement of the millennium."

Snow smiled. "You at sixteen were just as I always remembered you: the woman who saved my life. No matter what, that's always how I will see you… sometimes mixed with other emotions, but, fundamentally. I always knew you were a good person, Regina, and I was lucky enough to get to see that with my own eyes back then."

"You were lucky?" Regina scoffed. "I would hardly consider you lucky for having met me at all. Your life would have never even  _been_  in danger if it weren't for my mother's interference."

"Maybe not, but look at where we are now. I'd say it all worked out, wouldn't you?"

Regina looked across the room, watching Emma play with Neal. From behind, she looked just like the adult Emma. And Regina had to admit, it really was all working out.

Or at least she hoped it would.

* * *

Emma hopped up in the couch beside Henry as David got up to take Neal into the other room to change him.

"I met your mom's boyfriend today," she said, softly so only Henry would hear.

"Oh yeah? How was that?"

"I punched him."

"What?" Henry gasped, turning to stare at Emma with wide eyes.

Emma laughed. "Kidding! I wanted to, though. What a douche."

"Emma," Henry said, rolling his eyes. Then he stopped, when a realization came over him. "Hey, so… what's gonna happen now? Between you and my mom, I mean?"

Emma shrugged. "I dunno. Regina said we have to wait until I'm back to myself to talk about it."

Henry nodded. "At least she's willing to talk," he acknowledged. "Normally she keeps everything bottled up. Make her talk, Emma, when you're back to normal. Don't let her chicken out."

"Henry! If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were in support of this relationship!" Emma laughed as she watched Henry's cheeks get red.

"What relationship?" David asked, as he came back into the room.

"Ron and Hermoine," Emma said, suddenly. "Henry seems to think they'll end up together, when everyone knows Hermoine is hot for Harry Potter."

Henry rolled his eyes. "Ron and Hermoine  _do_ end up together!"

"What!" Emma cried. "Dude! I haven't read them all yet. They don't exist in my… timeline? Or whatever."

Henry laughed. "Sorry."

David's eyes shifted back and forth between Henry and Emma, suspiciously. "Emma, you do remember I'm a cop, right? I may not have your lie detecting superpower, but I can tell when I'm being played. What's up?"

Emma shot Henry a look. What she  _wanted_  was for him to jump to her rescue, but instead he shut off the game and headed to the kitchen to help with dishes, allowing David to slip into his vacated spot.

"Emma?"

Emma sighed. "If I tell you, will you be cool about it?"

"Yeah, totally cool. Cool dad, right here," David insisted, causing Emma to roll her eyes and sigh dramatically.

"Ok, number one, stop it. And number two… I kissed Regina," Emma confessed.

"Today?"

"No! Not today. She's not like a pedophile. When we were both sixteen… we were kind of… I guess dating? Henry caught us and I swore him to secrecy. And now I'm just kind of wondering what's gonna happen."

David let out a heavy sigh. "Have you talked to Regina about it? I mean, since she returned to normal?"

"Not really," Emma said. "She wants to wait until I'm normal again, too."

"Probably wise."

"Yeah, I guess. But, um, just out of curiosity…. Would you be cool with it? I mean, like, I don't  _know_  what's gonna happen or anything, but I just kind of want to know what you would think."

David smiled. "Honey, as long as you're happy, I'm happy. Regina might not be my first choice for you, but I've learned not to try to push you into anything you don't want to do. You're a smart girl and I know for a fact you grow up into a smart woman. You'll make the right choice."

"Thanks Dad," Emma smiled.

* * *

At some point well past midnight, long after she had left the Charming loft, and left Henry and Emma to their family time there, Regina awoke to the sound of shattering glass coming from downstairs. It only took a second for her to speculate on whom the culprit might be, and when she headed down the stairs and toward the backdoor, the sight of Emma magically repairing the same window again confirmed it.

"Ahem," Regina cleared her throat, causing Emma to jump and spin around to face her. "I'm starting to get the feeling that I should have just given you a key."

"I fixed it," Emma shrugged, "like you said: necessary life skill."

Regina could tell Emma was trying to make a joke, but the shakiness in her voice betrayed what she was really feeling. Regina took a step closer and the look on the girl's face said it all. "Emma, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Nothing, I just… I just woke up and you weren't there and I got upset."

"So you snuck out again?"

"Yeah, but, at least I came here, right? I didn't go running wild around Storybrooke or some shit, so…" Emma stopped when she saw Regina's eyebrow raised in disapproval, and she wondered if she'd made a mistake. "Please don't send me home."

Regina sighed. "Come on," she said, holding her hand out for Emma to take. When she did, she led her up the stairs into her bedroom. She stopped once they were inside and picked up her phone.

"What are you doing?" Emma asked, panicked as she thought Regina would call her parents to come and pick her up.

"I'm texting your mother to let her know you'll be staying the night here, so they don't wake up and panic in the morning," Regina explained, and Emma let out a sigh of relief.

When Regina was done, she set the phone back down and pulled back the covers on the other side of the bed, so Emma could get in. She noted that Emma was still in her plaid pajama pants and a tank top, and clearly had had no intention of going home tonight anyway. She slid in next to Emma and pulled the covers over both of them.

"How was the rest of the night with your parents?" Regina asked, as she had wondered since she got home how family time had gone.

"Okay," Emma admitted, "a little intense, I guess. I called them Mom and Dad. There were some tears. It was weird, but it was okay."

"And yet you still felt the need to sneak out?" Regina asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Well, I mean, I stayed home last night," Emma replied, with a cheeky grin, "isn't that enough?"

"Well, it's hard to sneak out when you're sleeping," Regina pointed out.

"I woke up though. I woke up and you were still sixteen and for like a second I actually thought about waking you up and seeing if you wanted to go out, but then I remembered that if we got caught my mom would separate us again and… well, I know it wasn't very fun for you when she did that the first time, and I didn't want to risk it so I just kissed your forehead and went back to sleep," Emma explained.

"You kissed me when I was sleeping?" Regina asked.

"Yeah, I mean, sorry if that's weird, but I just figured it was okay, you know, because of everything."

"No, it's not that, it's just…" Regina's voice trailed off as she reached over to cup Emma's face in her hands, and leaned in to give her a kiss on the forehead.

"What was that for?" Emma asked, actually blushing from the surprise.

"A test," Regina said, simply. "We'll know if it worked in the morning. Now, let's go to sleep."

Emma smiled and shook her head, and Regina didn't object when she snuggled in close. Instead, she wrapped and arm around Emma and kissed her once more on the forehead for good measure. Emma smiled, though her eyes were still closed, and Regina stroked her hair softly, until the girl fell asleep.

"Sweet dreams, Emma," she whispered, before closing her own eyes and laying her head back on her pillow, in hopes that  _her_  Emma would be back in the morning.

* * *


	18. Chapter 18

Emma blinked a few times against the harsh, bright morning light. It was coming from both sides, which was odd and unfamiliar. She closed her eyes, trying to remember where she was. When she heard slow breathing beside her, it started to come back to her: she was at Regina's. She had broken in the night before.

But that wasn't last night, was it? Emma was sure that had happened when she was sixteen.

Her eyes shot open with the sudden realization, and she leapt – ungracefully – from the bed, landing with a hard thud on the carpeted floor below, before scrambling back to her feet and running over to the mirror on Regina's vanity.

She sighed in relief. She was back to herself,  _finally._

"Emma?"

Emma spun around to find Regina sitting up in bed, looking as worried as she'd ever seen her, but Emma couldn't help but grin. "Hey."

"Hey," Regina replied, with a small smile, unsure of where they stood now. "It worked."

Emma scrunched up her nose in confusion, about to ask what worked, when she remembered the moments before she fell asleep the night before. "The kiss…" she said, her voice an odd mix of disbelief and wonder.

Without a second thought, she headed back over to the bed and sat back down next to Regina, trying to work through what had happened. "The kiss," she repeated, "what was that? Not like…."

"True love's kiss?" Regina suggested, earning her a look of complete shock from the blonde. "No, not exactly…but an act of love, none the less. I realized it when you told me about how you decided not to wake me up the other night because you didn't want me to suffer the consequences. That was an act of love."

"Yeah, but…. Why did that work? I mean, I do seem to recall several acts of love, including a hell of a lot of kisses," Emma said, blushing as she did so.

"Yes, but the act only counts if the feeling is there as well," Regina explained, and Emma sighed, absorbing the meaning in those words. She understood that it meant there was love behind the act, but did it mean they were in love? Emma wasn't sure.

"Um…" Emma started, not sure how to approach this situation. She was so sure of herself when she was sixteen, but now, sitting in Regina's bed, with Regina, she was faltering. "Sorry about all the shit I said about Robin."

Regina snorted and shook her head. That wasn't what she was expecting, in the least. "It's fine."

"No, it isn't," Emma disagreed. "Sixteen or not, I way overstepped."

Regina offered a small shrug. "You weren't exactly wrong in your assessment," she admitted.

"What?" Emma let out a small gasp. "I mean, you were right about the whole thing… the situation is complicated. The whole Zelena-thing is hardly Robin's fault."

"That may be so, but… you were right, I don't need baby mama drama in my life. Maybe if that were the only factor, that would be different, but I think I deserve better than always being Robin's second choice, don't you?"

Emma nodded. She had thought that for a while, but feeling like she was on thin ice since bringing 'Marian' back, she had decided to keep her opinion to herself. "You deserve much better than that."

"Yes, and I think I can finally see it that way. I used to think that after everything I've done, I should be grateful for  _anyone_  who actually wanted me. But I think I've redeemed myself, haven't I? I can't take back or fully atone for everything I've done, but how long should I be punished?"

Emma let out a long sigh. She hadn't expected this deep of a conversation, this early in the morning, and especially not with Regina. She supposed there was more truth that she had realized when Regina had told her their understanding had deepened. Regina was opening up in a way Emma didn't expect, and she didn't want to screw it up.

"The real question is, how long are you going to keep punishing yourself?"

Regina inhaled sharply. She could feel tears stinging at the corners of her eyes. She had never known someone who could see  _through_ her quite the way that Emma could. In many ways, they really were two sides of the same coin.

"Regina," Emma continued, when she realized Regina wasn't going to respond. "You know I've never seen you as the Evil Queen. Even when I went back in time and  _literally_  saw you as the Evil Queen, when I looked at her, all I saw was you. Even so, seeing you at sixteen really opened my eyes to a whole other side of you. My mother knew you when you were young, and now I can see why she's always so quick to forgive you, in spite of everything. You were a good person who got taken advantage of. It happens. I mean, you took it to the extreme, but still… you are still that girl, despite everything. I can see it in your eyes."

Regina wiped the tears that were now falling with the backs of her hands and took a deep breath. "You were an incredibly insightful teenager, you know. You were right, about the eyes. They don't change."

"So, now what?" Emma said, vocalizing the question that was on both of their minds.

"Now, you make a choice," Regina stated.

"Me? Don't we both have to make a choice, here?" Emma protested.

"I believe it's clear that I already did," Regina shrugged.

It didn't take much for Emma to find the meaning behind those words. Regina didn't want to be anyone's second choice. She wanted to be someone's first and only choice. Emma just hoped she wasn't overstepping in assuming she wanted to be  _Emma's_  first choice.

She took a deep breath and decided there was only one way to find out.

Regina was surprised but not at all shocked when Emma's lips crashed against hers. She had made up her own mind under the apple tree with Emma the day before. She had mentally prepared herself for the all-too-real possibility of rejection from the blonde when she returned to normal and remembered her pirate, though she had still hoped that her new-found feelings would remain the same.

Regina leaned into the kiss a little more, opening her mouth and running her tongue on Emma's bottom lip. She felt Emma's lips smile against hers, before the blonde opened them and allowed Regina's curious tongue entrance. Both women could feel the unbridled magic surging back and forth between them, deepening the kiss into levels neither of them had experienced before, even as awkward teenagers in Emma's bedroom.

Regina couldn't help but start laughing, forcing her to break away from the kiss. Emma stared at her with wide, confused eyes. "What?"

Regina shook her head for a moment, trying to regain her composure. "I just started thinking, what would your parents think if they knew about our teenage make out sessions in your bedroom?"

Emma started to laugh, too. "Well, I already kinda told my dad we were a thing," she said, with a wink.

Regina raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You did? And he was okay with it?"

"Yeah. He wants to be the 'cool dad', apparently," Emma shrugged, as she leaned in for another kiss. To her surprise, Regina stopped her, with two fingers against her lips.

"Wait," Regina said, shaking her head.

"What? Why?" Emma protested.

"You have a certain pirate situation you need to deal with, before we go any further," Regina explained.

"Right. And I guess you have a certain thief to rid yourself of, as well," Emma pointed out.

Regina smirked. "Already did."

"What? When?"

"Last night, after I left your parents' loft," Regina said, simply.

"Really? But you didn't know yet how everything was going to turn out."

"No, but I had to do it anyway, for myself. I knew even if you went back to Hook when it was all over, I was better off single than in the middle of that mess. You showed me that, Emma. You might have put it crudely, but you were right. Robin didn't miss me. He just missed… what was it you said? Oh, right, he wanted to bang me. I need more from a relationship than that."

Emma smiled. "Well, I'm glad my sixteen-year-old wisdom combined with my lack of a filter even in a social setting paid off."

"As am I, dear."

"And, hey, we get to skip the awkwardness of explaining it to the kid, since he already busted us anyway. And I talked to him last night, he's so on board with this."

Regina smirked and raised an eyebrow, but she didn't disagree with the blonde's assessment.

"So  _now_  what?" Emma asked again.

Regina picked up Emma's hand. "Now," she said, planting a kiss on Emma's palm, "I make us breakfast, and then you go end things with the pirate. I'll set up a lunch date with your parents and we can break the news to your mother."

Emma laughed. "She's going to go from your step-daughter to the mother of your girlfriend," she commented, earning herself a light swat on the arm.

"Stop that," Regina said, shaking her head. "Don't make me feel weird about this."

"Really?  _That's_  what would make this weird? Not a magical spell reverting us into teenagers?"

Regina shrugged. "You and I each have a friend who can turn into a dragon at will. No magic can make me feel weird."

"Good point," Emma nodded. "So… what are you making me for breakfast?"

Regina shook her head and smiled, well aware that for all the reasons they fit together, the fact that she loved to cook and Emma loved to eat shouldn't surprise her in the least.

Emma jumped up to hop into the shower as Regina headed downstairs. She supposed she shouldn't be surprised that the blonde instantly made herself at home, either. Not that she minded. Barely minutes into their relationship, and Regina already knew  _this_  was what was missing from every relationship she'd ever had: familiarity without expectation.

After about ten minutes, as Regina was just plating up scrambled eggs and bacon for Emma, and an egg white omelette for herself, she felt strong arms snake around her waist from behind, and a smiling face nuzzling into her neck. She lifted one hand, wrapping it around Emma's and holding her there, just for a moment, before turning to face her.

"Breakfast is served, my dear," she said, gesturing to the plates on the counter. Emma smiled and gave Regina a quick peck on the lips, before grabbing her plate and heading into the dining room. Regina followed and sat down beside her with her own breakfast.

Emma grinned a little as she reached her hand over to Regina's lap and grabbed onto hers, intertwining their fingers and holding her hand under the table as they ate.

"What are you doing? There's no one here," Regina pointed out, confused as to why Emma was hiding their hands.

"I know," Emma replied, with a cheeky grin. "I just kinda miss being a teenager with you. You know, being all secretive and sneaky and getting in to trouble."

Regina smirked and raised a playful eyebrow. "Just imagine the trouble we can get into as adults."

Emma almost choked at the expected words, before bursting out laughing. "Now who's corrupting who?"

"Whom, dear," Regina corrected, barely hiding her smile.

Emma rolled her eyes, and Regina gave her hand a playful squeeze under the table.

Emma dropped her fork on the plate the second the last bite was in her mouth. Regina gaped at her for a moment. "Did you even taste that?" she commented. She knew Emma could eat fast, but that was record speed, Regina was sure.

"Yup, delicious. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a break up to attend. See you at lunch?"

Regina smiled and nodded. "I'll text you when and where."

Emma grinned as she headed out the front door of the mansion. She couldn't remember ever being this  _happy_  about an impending break up, but she also couldn't remember a time where she was about to enter a relationship with so much potential for real happiness. Hook had told her she was his happy ending, but she knew in her heart she didn't feel the same.

Being with Regina, though, made her feel like maybe real happiness actually was possible, even for someone like her.

Either way, she was looking forward to finding out.

 


	19. Chapter 19

Emma arrived at the diner at noon, as Regina had texted her to do. When she stepped inside, she found only Regina sitting alone at a booth, and no sign of her parents.

"Hey," Emma said, sliding in to the seat next to Regina.

"Hey, how'd it go?" Regina smiled, noting that Emma didn't look upset in any way, and she hoped that was a good thing.

"Fine," Emma shrugged. "It went, I guess. Either way, I'm a single lady now."

Regina raised an eyebrow. "Oh, is that what you think?"

Emma smirked, playfully, trying to hold back her laugh. "Well, I don't know. Has anyone else made a claim on me?"

"Why don't you tell me?" Regina asked. Before Emma could even get a word out, Regina pressed her lips against Emma's, in a long, hard kiss.

"So we're going for showing, not telling, I take it?" Emma asked, breathlessly, when she finally pulled away from the kiss. She glanced at the door, a little nervously, expecting her parents to walk in any moment and catch her in this compromising situation.

Regina smiled. "I may have told you a slightly earlier time than I told them," she shrugged. "I wanted to see you alone, first."

"Ah, you wanted to get a little more secret kissing in before we go public?"

"Something like that," Regina agreed, as she leaned in for another kiss. Something about kissing Emma felt so natural, so freeing, in a way she hadn't experienced in a long time. Something about this whole thing, even though it was so new, just felt so right to Regina, that it felt like she'd been with Emma forever. In way, she guessed it almost seemed true, since they both had memories of dating at sixteen now, and even though that had really been earlier that week, it felt like a teenage memory to Regina.

Regina smiled as she broke away from the kiss this time, and looked into Emma's eyes for a moment, before sighing and leaning back into her seat. She reached for Emma's hand under the table, and Emma smiled as they both looked at the door, waiting for the inevitable arrival of her parents.

"Maybe we'll get lucky and your father already told your mother," Regina suggested, a little hopefully.

"Regina Mills, don't tell me you are nervous about this?" Emma teased. "And I doubt he would have, he wanted to be the cool dad and all. Cool dads don't narc on their daughters, you know."

"David and Snow tell each other everything," Regina pointed out.

Emma and Regina both looked up at the sound of the chime on the door at the diner, and watched as Snow and David made their way over.

"Emma!" Snow cried, and Emma stood up to hug her parents. All the teenage animosity was gone, and she was as relieved as they were, she was sure.

"I'm glad you're back," David said, as he gave his daughter one last squeeze, before they joined Regina in the booth.

Emma retook her spot next to Regina, and grabbed her hand under the table again. "I'm glad to be back, trust me. Sixteen wasn't the greatest time in my life, as you may have gathered," Emma shrugged.

"You don't say?" David laughed.

"I must say, we were all a little surprised," Snow confessed. "We didn't expect you to be quite so… rebellious."

Emma laughed and shook her head. "I was sixteen… by seventeen I was stealing cars and by eighteen I was in prison… how was sneaking out and swearing  _that_  surprising to you?"

Snow and David exchanged glances, and Snow looked back at Emma, a little confused. "You never told us you stole cars," she pointed out. "And you went to prison for a crime you didn't commit."

"I was anything but innocent," Emma laughed. "I didn't steal the watches but it was my idea to sell them. And I stole the Bug, by the way. From Neal. Who stole it from someone else, actually… anyway, that's not the point. And it's not why we wanted to talk to you two."

"So then why?" David asked, raising and understanding eyebrow to Emma, and she was sure he was already well aware of why. She was also pretty sure he'd still be cool with it. It was her mother's reaction she was concerned about.

"I, well, we," Emma stammered, not sure how to start. "Regina and I… when we were teenagers… and um…."

"I would like to date your daughter," Regina cut in, shocking even Emma.

"You would… are you asking for permission?" David asked, narrowing his eyes at Regina. For her part, Snow just let her mouth drop open in shock. Clearly, David had played 'cool dad' and kept Emma's secret.

"Actually, I am… well, I'm not asking for permission… I am already dating your daughter," Regina corrected.

"Emma?" was all Snow could get out, and Emma laughed.

"Mom, be cool. It's the twenty-first century," Emma pointed out.

"No, it's not that, it's just… when did this happen?" Snow managed to ask.

"When we were sixteen," Emma grinned, earning her a small kick from Regina under the table as Regina blushed. "I kind of corrupted Regina. My bad."

"And you're both sure you still feel the same?" David asked, going into full-on protective father mode.

"Dad! Seriously, we're adults capable of making our own decisions," Emma pointed out. "And yes, we're sure. We're sure, aren't we?"

"Yes," Regina confirmed. "Quite sure."

"What about Henry?" Snow asked.

"What about him?" Emma asked.

"Have you told him?"

"Oh, he knows… well, he sort of knows. He kind of caught us kissing," Emma laughed, and it earned her another small kick under the table, which made her laugh even more. "I mean, we've obviously got to have another conversation with him. Speaking of which, Regina, we also have to have a conversation with him about you-know-who," Emma pointed out, suddenly remembering Henry's own secret date with Grace.

"Who?" Snow asked, forever curious.

"No one," Regina said.

"Yeah, we're sworn to secrecy," Emma laughed. "So anyway, Mom and Dad, I know this is all pretty sudden, but thanks for not, like, freaking out. I'm gonna stop by this afternoon and get some stuff to take to Regina's."

"Oh, you're moving in, are you?" Regina asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I was thinking more along the lines of staying over," Emma laughed, rolling her eyes. "And, if you value that back window of yours at all, I think you should seriously consider giving me a key."

Snow looked back and forth between her daughter and former step-mother as they laughed. She wasn't quite she what exactly had happened or what Emma was even referring to, but she couldn't remember a time when she had seen either of them this happy.

"You okay?" David asked softly, leaning in to his wife.

"Yeah, actually," Snow said, a small smile creeping over her lips. "I love them both, David. And they seem to make each other happy. If they're happy, I'm happy."

* * *

"Don't forget to return my keys to the city," Regina said, as she pulled the spare key to her house off her own key ring to give to Emma. They were in Emma's bedroom again, and Regina was sitting on the bed, watching Emma throw clothing into a dufflebag.

"Aw, I thought maybe you'd be up for sneaking out again tonight and breaking into the clock tower," Emma said in a mock pout, as she rounded the other side of the bed and pulled the keys out from their hiding spot under the mattress.

"Hmm, I bet I can think of something even more fun that we can do tonight instead," Regina smirked, " that doesn't even involve leaving the house."

"There you go again, always trying to corrupt me," Emma sighed, and she stretched out on the bed next to Regina.

"Why do I get the feeling you will be just as easy to convince as I was?" Regina ask, scooting forward so she could lie down beside her.

"Hey, I don't want to kill the mood or anything," Emma said, rolling onto her side to look at Regina, "but I'd rather bring this up now, than when we're in the throes of passion tonight."

Regina laughed. "Throes of passion?"

"What? I'm a romantic at heart. Bite me," Emma scoffed.

"Eloquent as always, dear," Regina smiled. "Please, do continue."

"Anyway, I just wanted to say… I'm sorry your mother was so shitty to you. You really deserved better, and if you ever want to talk about it, I'll listen."

Regina's smile changed from teasing to sad to grateful in a matter of seconds, as she reached out to take Emma' hand. "Thank you, Emma, but it was ancient history."

"Yeah, well, I know first-hand how ancient history can come back to bite you in the ass again. I think you do, too. I'm just saying, you don't have to go through it alone. You have me now."

Regina smiled wider as she leaned forward and pulled Emma into a tight embrace. "Same goes for you," she whispered into her ear. "Neither of us need to be alone again."

Emma laughed. "You couldn't get rid of me, even if you tried. And you have tried," Emma reminded her.

"Yes, well, I'm glad I failed."

"Yeah, me too."

It wasn't long before their lips found each other again. They had some time to kill before their dinner with Henry tonight to announce their relationship… and interrogate him about his own.

Relationship. Emma liked the sound of that word, when she applied it to Regina. Despite the rocky start when they first met, Emma had always known she had a draw to this woman, and now, feeling how perfectly their lips and bodies fit together, she realized it was because their souls were a perfect match as well.

They both had good and bad and neither expected the other to be perfect. Emma didn't have to live up to some ideal of being another person's happy ending, she could just be herself and Regina would accept her as is, flaws and all.

And that's all she'd ever wanted, anyway.


	20. Chapter 20

**Here it is, the last chapter… sorry it's a bit shorter than the others, but there just wasn't any story left to tell. I debated putting a sex scene in this one, but I didn't want to end my story with that, and plus I felt like it would off-set the flow of the rest of the story, so you're all going to have to use your imaginations ;)**

**I just want to say thank you to everyone who followed this story til the end, and for all the faves/reviews, they mean the world to me! I will miss teenage Regina and Emma… perhaps I will have to find a way to write them again ;) One day….**

**So, without further ado, the twentieth, and final chapter of Wayward Daughters:**

**Chapter Twenty**

Emma shifted nervously in her seat on the sofa next to Regina, as they waited for Henry to return home. They were in Regina's living room, and Henry was due back any minute now. Emma could feel herself growing more and more anxious with every passing moment, while Regina seemed to be remarkably calm.

"Stop fidgeting," Regina said, putting her hand on Emma's thigh to stop the nervous tapping of her foot, "he already caught us, so this isn't going to come as that much of a shock to him. I don't know what you are so nervous about."

"We were sixteen when he caught us. He was cool with it then, but what if it's weird for him now?"

"Well, if that's the case, then he's just going to have to get over it, isn't he?"

Emma blinked at Regina in surprise. She hadn't expected her to say  _that_. She had fully expected that if Henry was against it, Regina would change her mind and kick Emma to the curb.

"What?" Regina asked, raising an eyebrow as she noticed Emma's dumbfounded expression. "He's not a child anymore. He's old enough to understand that we are adults and we deserve happiness, too. And with you, Emma, I see my chance at a happy ending."

Emma smiled. She hadn't considered the idea of being Regina's happy ending, but she liked it. When Hook had told her the same thing, it has only scared her, because it felt like a lot of undue pressure and she wasn't sure that she could live up to his ideal. But with Regina… well, with Regina it was different, and Emma knew exactly why.

"You feel like my happy ending, too."

Regina smiled, knowing just how important and admission like that was from the Savior – the woman who spent all her time trying to ensure  _everyone else's_ happy endings, and never giving a second thought to her own.

"Mom?"

Regina's thoughts were interrupted by Henry announcing his arrival in the entry way.

"Living room, Henry," Regina called back, before taking Emma's hand and intertwining their fingers. She gave Emma a wink and a small smile as they both stood to greet Henry.

"Mom!" Henry exclaimed, once he saw Emma back to herself. He rushed over and wrapped his arms around her, and Emma was suddenly reminded of her sixteen-year-old fears that Henry wouldn't be as happy to see her back as he was with Regina. She was relieved that wasn't the case as she hugged him back tightly with her free arm.

"Hey, Kid," Emma grinned as she pulled back from the embrace.

It took Henry all of two seconds to notice Emma and Regina's interlocked fingers and raise a questioning eyebrow.

"So," Henry said, tentatively, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, "anything you two want to tell me?"

This time, it was Emma who decided to take the lead, as Regina had done breaking the news to Snow and David. "I'm dating your mom," she blurted out. She had meant to say something more eloquent, but it was too late for that.

Regina rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help but to laugh. "You don't look surprised," she commented, noting Henry's grin.

Henry shrugged. "I mean, dating's better than being at each other's throats, right? And, it's not like this is coming out of the blue or anything. I caught a little head's up at the ice cream parlour, remember?"

"Yes, well, speaking of," Regina started, her tone becoming more serious. "We need to have a conversation about Grace."

"Right Kid," Emma agreed. "You're fourteen and that's way too young for you and Grace to be sneaking around behind your parents' backs."

"Oh, is it? How old is old enough to sneak around, then? Sixteen?" Henry asked, looking at Emma. He had meant it as a joke, but the look on Emma's face told both he and Regina that Emma had taken it as anything but.

"Henry," Regina said, squeezing Emma's hand reassuringly. "That's unfair. Emma-"

Emma put her hand up to stop Regina. "It's okay," she insisted, "I got this. Henry, I know it seemed like I had a lot of fun when I was a teenager, but the honest truth is, my life sucked. I didn't have the life you have, and I know you know that. What I don't think you realize, though, is that all that stuff I did – sneaking out and getting in trouble – it was all for attention. I just wanted  _someone_  to notice me, and maybe I wouldn't feel so invisible. Needless to say, it didn't work. Like was rough for me, Kid, and I did a lot of things I'm not proud of. Of all the things I regret, though, I don't want to add you following in my footsteps to the list."

"Mom, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Kid. If you want to date Grace, we can't stop you, and I, for one, wouldn't want to anyway. She's a great kid, but you two  _are_  kids. You don't need to grow up so fast. Just remember that."

"Okay," Henry promised.

* * *

"Sorry I kind of hijacked the whole conversation with Henry back there," Emma said, later that evening. Dinner was done and Henry was doing his homework and Emma and Regina were  _finally_  alone in Regina's room again, sitting on the bed. "I know the whole giving-parental-advise thing isn't exactly my strong point."

Regina smiled. "I think you did wonderfully."

"If you say so," Emma sighed.

"Hey," Regina said, cupping Emma's cheeks in her hands and turning her face so she could look in her eyes, "Remember your offer from earlier? About me talking about my mother? I want you to know, the same goes for you, dear. If you want to talk about anything from your life, and your childhood, you can talk to me."

Emma smiled and leaned forward to press her lips into Regina's for a long, deep kiss. "There will be time for all that," Emma said, once she broke away. "Later. But tonight, your Majesty, I believed you promised to corrupt me."

"That I did," Regina agreed, with a grin, "and I believe you agreed to be corrupted."

**Fin**


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